Monster Rancher: The Savage Saga
by Dark Scimitar
Summary: Formerly "Dark Legend". 6 years after the original journey, Genki returns to the monster world to find it thrown into chaos by a new, more sinister evil. Now the rebels must find the driving force behind this evil and destroy it... before it's too late.
1. Prologue

The Final War- The wind howled in agony as it was pierced by blasts of energy that came from every direction as the dragon went through on its death march. The blows seemed to ricochet off him and he never flinched; it was almost as if they weren't even there. He spit fire at the urban sprawl with such a complete loathing that it seemed as if they had done wrong to him his whole life. They had never even known him, nor did they want to. This 'dragon' had been created for no purpose other than to destroy, and he vowed to make sure that at the end of this battle, it would be as if the whole civilization had never existed. He had slaughtered even his creators and he was very pleased with himself for the act. He knew that some had escaped, that some were in hiding, but he didn't care. Right now the only thing Moo was concerned with was destruction, of everything, but especially a small group who had been like a plague to him, spreading and ruining his armies. Now he had them trapped, and there was nowhere to run. . .  
  
Scimitar fired his torpedo attack at the demon dragon as he ran, disrupting his enemy's fire as it flew through midair. He cursed as the top of the building he had darted behind shattered and dispersed in all directions. He dove behind another building as he once again became a target. Behind the neighboring building was Kovu, his second-in-command. The Zuum knew the seriousness of the situation but he whooped as another projectile flew past him, pelting him with debris as he stood his ground. Then he went into clear firing range. Extremely courageous, or complete foolishness, Scimitar couldn't decide. The tiger kept his guard up as he charged up another attack, a more powerful one this time, his black and blood-red body reflecting every burst of light that came from the nearby firing weapons. He fired again and heard Moo roar in frustration as he cleanly missed. He felt a hand grasp his shoulder roughly and he spun and raised his claws, ready to mutilate his attacker.  
  
"Whoa!! Whoa!! Wait!!" screamed the creature cowering before him, "It's me!!"  
  
"Dammit Sabre!" he yelled, "Don't sneak up like that!"  
  
"Sorry!" was the answer he received over the chaos, "We're losing ground Scimitar! We can't keep this up for long."  
  
The rebel leader knew he was right, but he was driven by anger. Moo had to pay for the suffering! He looked up at the dragon and nodded.  
  
"I know, but we can't regroup, that will give him time to do the same."  
  
The dragon grabbed his shoulder again.  
  
"Scimitar, this is suicide! We have to back off!"  
  
They both grimaced as an explosion rocked them violently.  
  
"You missed me again you son of a bitch!!" they heard Kovu scream as he fired his energy rifle again.  
  
Scimitar didn't even look at his best friend and turned to Sabre.  
  
"No! We've come THIS far and I will not surrender to him!"  
  
"We're all going to die if we don't retreat!!" Sabre retorted, " We can't take him alone!"  
  
Kovu dove in between them and the two put up their guard again abruptly.  
  
"Sorry Scim! There's nothing I can do!" came the panting warrior's voice, "We have to retreat!"  
  
"Run Scimitar." agreed Sabre.  
  
The rebel leader's gaze went swiftly between the two of them, weighing his options and the outcome of each. He finally exploded as more flames scorched the structures.  
  
"NO!!!" he thundered as his companions winced with defeat and the realization of things to come.  
  
"I WILL NOT RUN!!" he screamed. Then his voice sounded almost pleading, "I'm a warrior."  
  
"Scimitar please!" Kovu begged him, "We can't win without backup. We might not even get out with our lives as it is."  
  
"Then why try?"  
  
Kovu sighed. "Alright."  
  
"Let's do it." Sabre said reluctantly.  
  
Scimitar was turning when he saw Kovu do a double take. He followed his friend's gaze and gasped silently. In the air was a huge monster, a large firebird the size of the monster they were fighting. It swiftly attacked the 'dragon' and flew off for another pass.  
  
"There's your backup Kovu." he said grinning.  
  
The two giants were locked in combat and they showed no signs of letting up. The rebels on the ground cheered but their faces grew frightened as they saw a beam of light come from one of the structures and strike the two. They both shrieked in pain and disappeared into oblivion. The rebels were shocked and stunned. Out from the air shot two spinning disks of energy, the monsters' souls. They stared as the air began to pulse and a Naga close to the epicenter disappeared as well. Only then did Scimitar run, and his companions joined him. They saw the wave of light pass overhead and they kept running past bodies already strewn on the earth. Scimitar tried in vain not to notice them.  
  
"RRRRRRAAAAAAAGGGHGHHHHH"  
  
His head whipped around as he skidded to a complete stop. He glanced to his left and found himself staring into the eyes of Sabre, who looked just as confused. They turned around and the sight they stared at made a scream freeze in Scimitar's throat. His heart felt like it had been punctured as he took in the scene. The scream had come from Kovu. He stood in the midst of low burning flames, his head raised to the sky but his eyes closed in terrible pain, with a figure standing behind him. Protruding from his back was a sword hilt. Protruding from his chest was the end of the long blade. He opened his eyes slowly and looked down at the vicious blade stained in his own lifeblood. Then he looked to Scimitar and half-smiled.  
  
"I have been. . . and always. . . shall be. . .yours. . "  
  
Then he fell, the sword still in him. He was dead before he hit the ground.  
  
"NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Scimitar heard himself scream, but he was cut off as the figure pulled his sword out of Kovu. Then he looked toward them. They didn't even have time to react as he did a front flip and rammed his blade into the ground. Lightning shot from the impact point and surged up into Sabre. The dragon had only time for a brief yelp before detonating and covering Scimitar and the creature with blood. The attacker turned at last toward the rebel leader, who stood dazed and horrified. Then Scimitar finally saw him for the first time, and he choked on his own spit.  
  
It was not the fact that Scimitar recognized him. It was that he couldn't comprehend that the creature standing before him was capable of all this. It glanced over its shoulder at the oncoming shockwave and then finally looked back at him.  
  
It grinned, revealing lethal fangs that reflected the surrounding light. Then it uttered two words that made Scimitar's blood run cold.  
  
"Dark Heart."  
  
Scimitar saw a bright burst of light and something entered his chest. He felt excruciating pain and screamed as it felt like he was burning from the inside out. He thought about his friends sadly and the last thing he knew before darkness claimed him, was the only thing that he felt besides the pain. . . astonishment. 


	2. Awakening

**I own the characters: Scimitar, Thunder, Kovu, and Sabre. The other characters belong to Tecmo.** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Years Later...  
  
The feeling was strong this time, he was closer. His hair blew straight backwards in the cold northern wind and he felt the iron scales of his companion brush against his skin as he gripped its shoulders tightly. Up here, the sun shone brighter, a brilliant yellow glow in the sky, and all was right with the world.  
  
As far as Genki Sakura was concerned, it was almost perfect. Other than the absence of his friends, the 17 year old had never felt so alive, and he loved the feeling. He had been longing to return for 6 years now and he had finally gotten the chance. He had not yet found his 6 old friends but at least he had been reunited with another of his many allies almost the day he arrived.  
  
"Where to kid?" the voice asked, teasing him with the old nickname.  
  
Genki grinned, "Anywhere the wind takes you Falcon."  
  
The dragon smiled back up at him, "I'll make one stop along the way."  
  
"You're a great friend Falcon." Genki told him.  
  
He laughed, "Right back at you kid, right back at you."  
  
He continued to soar and they ducked through cloud cover. The red dragon did not appear to have gotten too much older than Genki had remembered him and he still held respect for him. It was mutual. The ground went by beneath them and Falcon made a sharp dive when he reached the base of the mountain where the village was. He flew over it once and looked back. Then, with a quick warning to his passenger, he dove once more and set down cleanly by the outskirts. Genki remained perched on his back for a moment and stood up for a view.  
  
They looked on as the inhabitance worked and toiled in the fields and valleys surrounding the town. A few of them came down to meet them as they stood out significantly among the excited villagers.  
  
"You'll want to see Holly then?" asked one of them, reading their minds.  
  
Genki looked incredulously at Falcon but the dragon just smiled innocently.  
  
"Let's go then!" he exclaimed, turning and following the small group that was taking them to their friend.  
  
"Don't bother." came a voice.  
  
Before them stood a young woman. She looked around 19 with beautiful long brown hair and eyes. The stone that was draped around her neck revealed what Genki already knew. It was Holly.  
  
She ran to him and both Genki and Falcon received a hug.  
  
"Come on!" she called to them, turning and running back up the path, "I'll take you back to meet the others!"  
  
Genki and Falcon glanced at each other before following her. It felt good being back, Genki decided as he was sprinting after the rapidly disappearing form. He noticed that she was taking them further up the mountain than most of the other dwellings, 'She has good taste.' he thought. The house she was obviously leading them to was already in view and he ran faster. That was before he felt a strong arm grab him in mid stride and half drag him into a secluded alley on the outskirts. A clawed hand closed around his neck and pinned him firmly against the side of the building.  
  
"What the..." he choked.  
  
"Shut up!" the voice hissed.  
  
A hood hid its head and the cloak it wore masked all of its features save the arms and hands, which stubbornly refused to loosen their grip.  
  
"Now listen." it told him calmly but in a menacing tone. "I know you think that you are strong, but even you need backup for strong assaults."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Genki whispered through clenched teeth. "There's no reason for an attack by anyone-"  
  
"You must know what's happening to this world." the figure cut him off.  
  
"Who are you?" Genki asked bitterly.  
  
"A friend." replied the voice, "But many things are changing Genki, many things were not laid to rest."  
  
"How do you know me?"  
  
The figure tore its hood away, revealing the last face Genki had expected himself to be staring down.  
  
"Naga..!" he gasped as his widened eyes took in the serpent's intense face. He had seemingly grown bigger since Genki had last seen him, and even though he was indeed a friend, the severity in his eyes had never diminished, and this Genki noticed all too well. They gazed intently at one another, and Naga had Genki's full attention as he held the young man up to his eye height. Then he heard voices, and a shadow swept over the alley, making it darker than it already was. He heard Holly and Falcon's shouts above all, wondering what had become of him.  
  
Naga turned swiftly toward the voices and then back to Genki.  
  
"I must go," he rasped, "You will learn that this world has not changed all that much, one way or another."  
  
And then he was gone. It seemed that he was almost afraid of being seen within the town, and he had good reason to be. He had been a top general of Moo's, 6 years ago, and Genki and the others remembered him bitterly. He had been one of the Big Bad Four, as they were called and he had been power-hungry, intelligent and brutal. All in all, they were the dominant force until the rebels had come, defeating them in a series of battles that shifted the balance of power. Naga had been the last they faced.  
  
An extremely powerful monster, he had sent out his troops like the others, but unlike the battles before, Naga's required some assistance, namely Pixie, former member of the Big Bad Four. Naga was defeated, and their attention was shifted toward the source of the evil, Moo.  
  
Naga had been resurrected like all the others and became a wanderer, traveling to pass the time among other things known only to him. He had mistakenly come across the rebels as they ended up in trouble again in a small town. He saved the leader, Genki, but was greeted with suspicion and scorn. A few of them did not trust him still, for being what he had been in the past. Their friendship was gained in time but he departed, leaving for good again. And now here he was, back in the town he had obliterated while still under the influence of Moo. If he was seen, he would be attacked, for all the monsters that had fought him had also been resurrected.  
  
Genki stared after him, wondering how Naga's muscular form could move that fast.  
  
"Naga?" he called to the darkness, "Naga?"  
  
No answer came. With one last look down the alley, he ventured once again from behind the building and strode off toward Holly's home.  
  
"Genki!"  
  
He turned and saw his friends running up to him.  
  
"Where were you?" asked Falcon, "We were getting worried."  
  
"I got caught up and then got lost." he lied, "Sorry about that."  
  
Holly shook her head, "I can't even leave you alone for 3 minutes."  
  
"What does that mean?!" he asked annoyed.  
  
She just laughed and turned away.  
  
Then she walked away up the path. The dragon and other human followed her, the latter keeping a wary eye on his surroundings, looking to see if any more unexpected arrivals would once again show their face to him.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
A shape moved silently across the desert. It held a steady pace as the light beat it down and its counterpart; heat, "helped" in an even bigger manner. The sands shifted beneath its paws like those inside of an hourglass, and its claws extended ever so slightly as it drew closer. The place was an oasis from hell, and the bleak and barren surroundings made the area look otherworldly. The wind shot smoothly down the open areas, meeting no resistance and stirring awake the earth.  
  
The creature mumbled softly to itself as it pressed on, uttering words spoken to no one, but directed at someone in particular. He'd been this way before, and knew the terrain all too well. He took every turn like he'd lived there for much of his life, and in fact he had. Large cliffs loomed suddenly over him as the sands died down, and he looked intently straight forward with piercing golden eyes.  
  
This was the first time he had been this way in over 3 years, and it felt good seeing some old surroundings. He knew something was happening to the world, a world that had been peaceful for seemingly so long. He heeded his instinct mostly, and this time was no exception, but he did not dwell on matters that would not help him in the present. Many things had changed, and yet so many others had stayed the same, like him.  
  
He had hoped that this would all work out in the end. He was not surprised that he'd been wrong. He knew the ways of the world far too well for that. He had hoped that he would quickly get his life back, a life that he had lost far too many times. And again no, but that was not an impossible dream, and he planned to see it through.  
  
He moved further into the canyon he'd entered and looked to the highest point. Then, with an amazing display of speed, he jumped back and forth between the cliff faces before neatly coming to rest on the top. He looked to the east and saw the sky blacken drastically and huge clouds form. A storm was brewing. He remained fixed, staring at nature's doing as the wind picked up again and toyed with his long mane. He looked to the sky and saw the last ray of sun fade from view as it was swallowed up by the dark. It was still day, but it looked like night. His gaze stayed on the heavens, and he didn't turn away for some time.  
  
"Dark. Mmmmmmmm, just like before."  
  
Then he retraced his steps and headed away from his old home. The rain came fast and soaked his fur down to the skin and bones beneath it, and he faded into the darkness, engulfed by the torrent of water and the surroundings of his world.  
  
The storm had come from far away, and stretched for quite a few miles out of the desert. Lightning streaked down from the sky with a fury and vanished as quickly as it had appeared, taking with it the brief period of non-darkness that accompanied. The winds blew the sand in every direction on the completely flat plain, taking it on an endless ride that never ceased for even a second. The plain held absolutely nothing other than the small grains and nothing was in the way to block it or the objects it violently hurled everywhere. The horizon went from pitch black to an eerie blood red, and the winds grew stronger.  
  
It was here that a disk was revealed from its blanket, a stone that had gone unseen by life as it passed. The lightning tore apart the sky again and rocketed through the sky before burying all of its destructive powers within the stone. It shone with a brilliant radiance and slowly rose into the air, spinning swiftly as if it was a tornado. It began flashing violently and the whole sky lit up as it continued to self- destruct. Then, with a blinding explosion of light, it disappeared. Where it had been hovered an immense figure.  
  
It remained as still as stone, and then slowly descended to the earth. Its clawed feet touched the ground but still it did not flinch; almost lifeless it seemed as it stood alone. Then its eyes shot open, revealing a red light the exact same color as the sky behind it. Its head lifted into the air slowly and it stared with dead unblinking eyes straight ahead, as the storm raged on around it. Even its claws gripped the ground without a trace of movement and it seemed almost oblivious to the howling wind that pounded it continually. Then a hint of a smile spread slowly across its jaws, and it uttered a low, almost inaudible laugh.  
  
"So different, yet almost the same. I feel a presence, a strong warrior, maybe more than that. But I wonder... Will he be the same as before, like all the others, or will this one be...different. Keep up your guard my friend, Thunder has once again awakened"  
  
Then it held one clawed hand to the sky and was gone in a flash of the last light of the day.  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Genki had talked to the house's owners with an eagerness that matched only his energy. They reminisced about the times when they were still just kids and together on the quest to find the phoenix. Even Mocchi had a few things to contribute to the conversation, which Holly's other friends listened to in amazement. They had found the pink monster and Suezo, his other former companion, at Holly's house and there had been a small reunion that delighted every person who witnessed it. Falcon laughed every time Tiger and Hare got into another argument and he was usually mirrored by half the room.  
  
They ate dinner and continued to talk until Genki felt as if his lungs would explode. By the time he was getting ready for bed, it was 11:38 at night and only he and Suezo were awake. They stared at the fire that burned in the fireplace of the cozy little home and tried to say something but they couldn't find the words. The fire reminded Genki all to well of some of the battles they'd had as kids and he tried not to remember how good it felt to destroy the enemy. He knew that even Tiger had felt a pang of guilt after some of the battles but obviously kept his emotions to himself.  
  
Genki sighed. Tiger. Where was he anyway? He knew he should be grateful for finding any of his friends in the first place but he still wished that all of them could've been there. Holly had said that Golem was usually there with them but was taking some time away to visit his 'graveyard of disks'. At least they knew where he was. Tiger and Hare hadn't been heard of since the final battle. Genki had been very disheartened when he had heard this. He had hoped to see them all, Tiger more than anyone else besides Holly. Even though they hadn't talked much, he had felt especially attached to the wolf-like monster. It was like they shared a special bond, one he felt only with him and Holly. He knew that Tiger had been very protective of him and that was what he had hoped would eventually bring him back. But how would Tiger know if he was back or not? He wouldn't. To Tiger, Genki was probably just another painful memory lost among the many others that plagued him.  
  
Suezo spoke up, dragging him out of his thoughts.  
  
"I'm going to turn in Genki," he told the young man, "I think you should go to bed pretty soon. Holly might be planning a long trip for tomorrow."  
  
As he said this last part he rolled his eyes and Genki laughed. They said goodnight and as Suezo hopped away, he stopped and said:  
  
"It's good to have you back kid."  
  
"Likewise." Genki whispered when he was gone, "Likewise."  
  
The hallway light went out on and soon the only light in the house, maybe the neighborhood, was the fire. He remained there for awhile until the clock read 11:58. Then he got up and stretched. He doused the fire and turned to go down the hall to his bed. He had not gone two steps when he stopped. There was something in the middle of the hallway. It was too dark to see its features but Genki knew that it was something that they had moved from his room to make room for his belongings. He smiled and walked forward to move it. That smile was quickly erased as the 'something's' eyes shot open creating a blinding radiance in the almost pitch black hallway.  
  
Genki had gotten to within three feet of it and he froze when it did this. It raised itself up to its full height and Genki was astonished, and frightened. It looked like a tiger, but only Tiger of the Wind had been that massive. It looked extremely muscular and a faint light from a window panned slowly across its face. It wore a knowing smirk and a scar right through its left eye. Its red mane flowed smoothly down over the black fur on its back. In fact, the monster's mane looked exactly like a fire, blazing in the night. Genki didn't know if it was dyed that way or this monster was unique in its coloring but he was too fixed on its protruding inch-and-a-half claws to really care.  
  
It hadn't moved since Genki had first seen it and made no motion to do so. Genki too a step back and immediately the monster was on him. It stood over him, its paws set on his chest, its claws jutting out so they rested menacingly on his neck. It grinned down at him, revealing neat rows of extremely sharp teeth that it threatened him with. Neither of them spoke.  
  
Genki openly showed his astonishment at the unprovoked attack and he kept his anger at bay only by the wish to keep his life. The creature let out a cold laugh that seemed to echo in the silence. They stared into each other's eyes, searching for some sign of a weakness, but for different reasons.  
  
"Rebel..." the wolf-like monster hissed.  
  
"What?" Genki made no move to hide his confusion.  
  
It did not answer and suddenly jumped off and ran away out of the house, and into the night. Genki leapt to his feet and followed it out of the open front door. They met again on a small street in the dark town. Genki stopped when it turned to face him and he promptly put himself into a battle stance. They circled, never taking their eyes off of each other. The monster seemed to be studying him and let him know that.  
  
"Powerful...good."  
  
"What right so you have to attack me?"  
  
"The same right that lets me do this."  
  
It then shot something out of its eyes and the resulting explosion was larger than Genki had hoped it would be. More than a few buildings were in flames. He had dodged and was about to counter and he turned to face it.  
  
"Who are you?!"  
  
A short laugh, "A living nightmare."  
  
Genki growled under his breath at this. The monster wasn't finished yet though. He grinned, threatening him and showing the power he was making no attempt to hide. One of the villagers came from a building, coughing and stumbling slightly. The tiger turned and his eyes flashed twice shooting a bolt of energy from them. The villager, a man, did nothing until the bolts hit him and he ran around like a maniac, flames shooting out of every pore in his body, reducing him to ash in a matter of seconds.  
  
The tiger grinned savagely at this and shot in all directions, blowing up any survivor of his first onslaught.  
  
"What do you want?" Genki managed to ask.  
  
He never got an answer.  
  
The tiger turned and shot at him.  
  
"Shut up!!" it hissed.  
  
Genki managed to get out of the way before he was annihilated at the hands of this murderer. In between the looks of fear that Genki was giving the wolf-like monster were the inquisitive looks he was sending at it as well. It reminded him of Tiger in every aspect except for it's coloring. He glanced quickly around, looking for any means of escape or anyone still moving. He saw none.  
  
The tiger obviously saw the same for he walked through the flames lapping up around him, making him seem a demon. Genki saw dark pits where his eyes were and the smirk on its face made him scramble backwards away from it. It kept slowly advancing, and gave a low growl like laugh.  
  
"Take a look around you." it half-commanded, "This is what's left of your peaceful life, shards and rubble, smashed and shattered on the ground."  
  
Genki didn't answer, but he felt an anger rising in him with a force only his fear outdid.  
  
The creature laughed, "Have a nice life." he sneered sarcastically.  
  
And with these last words and a red flash of his eyes, the wolf-like monster turned and walked away, disappearing in a flash of light that looked like teleportation. He didn't return. Genki was astonished. The town was gone. The tiger had done more damage than Genki had seen in the all the battles of the Phoenix journey and he was completely in awe at its power. He was also furious. He heard screams and someone come up behind him but he paid no heed to him. His gaze remained fixed on the spot where the tiger had vanished, and his eyes narrowed.  
  
He had come back for a paradise that didn't exist. It appeared that a new enemy had made itself known and it was just as strong as before, maybe more so. He felt a clawed hand on his shoulder and he tensed, but did not turn.  
  
"He's gone." came Falcon's voice. "There is nothing more you can do. You must move on, all of you."  
  
Genki finally turned and saw that the others were with him.  
  
"We flew up to a higher altitude," The dragon added, "He never saw us."  
  
"At least we all still live" Genki murmured softly  
  
Holly shed but one tear for her town and no more. She was still in shock. They all looked at him. They could do nothing for the dead and they had to leave, but reluctantly. They started off down the valley road and never looked back. They hoped to reach the nearest town by morning. Falcon flew ahead as scout, making sure that the tiger didn't reappear to wreak more havoc. He never did.  
  
The night was thick and cold and the trees seemed to groan under the stress of the wailing wind. They did not care and each did not complain and kept their pride to themselves. By sunrise, the fate of the town was revealed to the world. All that remained were the ashes of what used to be, and they blew gently away on the morning breeze. 


	3. The Return Of Tiger

They succeeded in their first mission and got to the nearest village well before morning. They made great time through the valley and Falcon kept urging them to move faster so he didn't have to fly all night. This caused a small dispute involving himself, Suezo, and Genki and they eventually all shut their mouths so as not to put Holly through more stress than she already was in.

It was still dark and cold when they trudged into the town. It seemed relatively large but that was because of the sheer size difference between it and Holly's village. Before they could do any more, Falcon turned to them.

"I must go." he told the group, "My troops have been without their leader for quite some time now and I think it best that I return to them."

Genki was sad to see him go but knew that he was right in his every word.

"Thanks for everything Falcon." he said graciously, "If there's anything I can ever do..."

The dragon laughed, but without humor. "Just having you back is enough kid"

Then with a final "Goodbye." and a smile, he took off and flew off into the sky. They almost immediately turned and walked deeper into the silent town. They were searching for a hotel of any sort and found it much harder than they had expected. Most of the buildings were locked shut for the night and they wouldn't receive a warm reception if they woke up half the town trying to get inside. Genki eventually became so irritated at not being able to get anywhere that he demanded that they split up until one of them could find a lodging for the night.

They did just that and searched for awhile without any luck at all. Suezo hopped along the side of the main street and looked at some of the closed up shops. He was looking more at the items in the shop windows than he was for a hotel so he didn't even notice it when he hopped right by one. It was one of only two that were still open in the town. The other was found by Mocchi and Holly.

Genki had gone to exactly the opposite end of the town and had found another inn, sealed up tight. He muttered a curse and then turned to look for more. He got news of the find around fifteen minutes later when Mocchi caught up with him. He grumbled about it taking so long and then told the small pink monster that he'd be along shortly and to go tell Holly. Mocchi did this without a second thought.

However, it took much longer to pry Suezo away from the shops that he had taken to than to find an inn so they all had plenty of time. He was found admiring a small but powerful telescope that he had found and was currently counting the money in his head while Holly threw her hands up in exasperation as she tried in vain to get him to come with her.

Genki surveyed what little parts of the town he didn't already see and then started heading back to look for the others. He did not have to go far and they met up relatively soon. They went and registered 3 rooms at the hotel (Suezo insisted on having his own) and quickly went up to them. Holly and Mocchi took one, and Genki and Suezo both had their own rooms. Genki said he was not tired and said he was going to look around the town. He invited the others but they fell asleep for an answer.

He walked down the padded stairs of the hotel/inn and outside into the night. He looked around the cold dreary little suburb and shivered slightly in the wind. He looked back the way they had come from and felt a pang of guilt about Holly's village. Even though he had not technically caused any of the damage he still felt as if it was his responsibility for protecting her and her belongings. It was something he had retained from back when they were with the others on their journey to find the Phoenix.

He shook his head and walked in the other direction, looking the way they would probably travel tomorrow. It was still dark and he still felt wary about the safety of the others. Between Naga and his unknown assailant at the village, he had more reason to fear for himself but he was too worried for their safety than for his own to think about worrying for himself. No one had really ever protected him besides some of his old friends who were not with them and they might have grown weary of fighting to fight for him much any longer. He knew he had.

The road had the same look and feel of it as the road coming in from the other direction and he became used to it relatively quickly. Trees lined the edges of the gravel and they seemed to loom over him. He was enjoying his walk though and thought nothing of it. He was lost in his thoughts and looking down at the ground so he did not see the shape come blurrily into view on the road up ahead. Rather, he heard it. Actually, it was purely coincidental that he looked up when he did and he saw it. He froze and felt fear mounting as he saw it walking slowly in his direction. It had the same shape and build as his earlier attacker and he dared not move. His eyes remained fixed on it as it advanced. 500 feet... 400 feet... 300 feet... 200... It then stopped dead in the middle of the roadway. It lifted it's head but did not look in his direction. It glanced straight up into the sky and sniffed.

Genki was worried that it might have caught his scent and he started to slowly back the way he had come. But wait! He wasn't upwind. It couldn't have smelled him. But that means... Something grabbed him by neck and threw him violently to the ground. He looked up at it and received a swift kick to the jaw. He rolled out of the way and barely had time to stand up before being tackled down again. He gave his attacker an elbow to the stomach and then turned around and delivered a haymaker punch right to his eye. He jumped out of the way just as a clawed foot smashed down where his back had been. He rubbed his sore jaw as he looked around in apprehension.

'Damn that hurt!' he thought as he dodged another series of assaults.

He was equally astonished to see that the figure down the road had also been attacked and was savagely slashing at it's adversaries left and right. Was it not the tiger from the village? Was he wrong? THWACK! A punch to the head brought him back to the fight and he all but forgot about the other form. It seemed to be able to take care of itself.

Their opponents were definitely dinos. Black Dinos to be precise, and Genki had had a few encounters with them before, all not pleasant.

'Here we go again." he thought bitterly as he countered with a series of kicks and flips.

He ducked a dino's punch and flipped it over his shoulder. Another one was there to assist and he too fell. Genki hated to admit it but he was having fun. This could keep him up all night. He grabbed one by the shoulders but his foot shot back in the other direction to level one that was coming from behind him. Then he kicked the first one and uppercut him hard. Its backup arrived though.

He dodged a swipe and some of their advances and backflipped a few times. Now was one of those times he was thankful he was a blackbelt in karate. He retreated even further and found himself back to back with someone. He instantly swung his arm and blocked a swipe from the right and then one from the other direction as well. He turned to fight and came to the realization that it wasn't a dino. It was the figure down the road who had also been attacked.

He had been right about it being a tiger but it ceased its onslaught when it realized he wasn't an immediate enemy. They both turned and stood back to back once again as they watched the dinos surround them stealthily. Then Genki heard the figure speak.

"What say we finish this, eh?"

"Fine by me." was his answer.

They then went on an strike of their own and the dinos had no chance. They tried to defend with an all out attack but the two warriors were just too strong. It took all of five minutes to knock them all into unconsciousness, aiding each other as they fought. When the last dino was laid out with a knee to the jaw, they turned to face each other. Neither spoke for a second but it was too dark to examine each other so Genki gestured back toward the town and the other bowed and walked with him.

They stayed on opposite sides of the road just as an extra precaution and the town offered no end to the darkness. Genki knew that this warrior had just helped him and he turned to it in the night and nodded toward the inn.

"Come on." he said, "I'll give you a place to spend the night."

"You're very kind" was his response.

They walked into the lit inn and sneaked up the stairs to Genki's room. They did not look at each other once. Genki and the figure from the road strolled down the hall until they got to his room and he unlocked it quickly. The figure hesitated and sniffed the air but then eventually walked into his room and Genki closed the door behind him. It went over to the closed shades and drew them back just slightly enough to look down at the road. There was nothing there.

Genki turned on the lights and got a glass of water. Then he sat down, put the glass down, and looked toward his guest. It immediately closed the shades when he did.

"So," Genki ventured, "Why are you traveling?"

"Personal matters."

He gave a short laugh and stood up.

"And you appear to have quite a few."

He turned and picked up the glass and took a drink. The figure finally turned to face him just as Genki looked back at him. What Genki felt at the moment he saw the figure's face he could not describe. His breath caught in his throat and he didn't dare to move. The glass fell from his hand and shattered, sending its contents in every direction. The face he was staring into couldn't be who it obviously was. The figure's eyes went impossibly wide and it's jaw dropped but no words came out. Neither moved. They remained still and continued to stare at each other. That voice! He knew it had sounded familiar! He had never been so happy to see the scar that ran down the figure's muzzle. It was Tiger of the Wind.

"Genki?" he heard from behind him.

He knew it was Holly but he didn't turn around, his eyes were locked with Tiger's.

"I heard something shatter and I came to see if you were oka..."

That's when she saw Tiger. She let out a scream and her hand shot to her mouth. Tiger continued to gape at Genki. Then an astonished grin spread across his face. He looked as if he was trying to find the right words to use. Holly cried out and rushed forward, almost tackling him in the process. She hugged him to her and he returned it.

"Oh god Tiger! It's you!"

"Holly! I...I...can't...believe it!"

Genki finally came out of his reverie and shook his head in disbelief. Tiger!

Tiger turned toward Genki and grinned widely. They walked to within a foot of each other and looked each other up and down, awe still openly showing. Neither could find the right word to use and finally Tiger, with a nervous sideways glance at Holly, thrusted his front leg toward Genki and they clasped wrists in a handshake.

"Oh you two!" Holly laughed at them.

"She's right." Tiger told Genki, "Screw this."

And as he said this, they threw their arms around each other in a fierce embrace. They did not break apart for quite some time. Genki was sure that Tiger had made one of his lungs collapse by holding him so tightly but he said nothing to the wolf for fear that he might get a retaliatory smack. After they released each other, Genki just smiled at the wolf-like monster and they both looked toward Holly. She shook her head and muttered something about too much pride. They both made a sarcastic cough and she gave them an irritated glare. Tiger said he was tired and not to tell the others until morning at least. She agreed.

"You can sleep in any one of the three rooms we have." Holly told him, "Or we can wake up someone and get you one of your own."

"Thanks," he said, "But I'll sleep with Genki tonight. We have a few...matters to discuss."

He looked right at the young man as he said this and Genki regarded him with an inquisitive gaze. Holly noticed this but did not press further.

"Alright." she yawned.

She gave Tiger a smile as she went back to her room and he half-grinned back but there was no happiness in it. After she was gone, Tiger quickly padded to the door and locked it, listening for any other noises outside in the dimly lit hallway. He then walked silently back into the room and sat down next to the dresser as Genki removed his shoes and then his shirt. The young man collapsed onto the bed and lay on his back, listening to the voices from outside the window.

Tiger stood up and Genki saw him at his full height for the first time. As far as the young man could tell, he was the same old Tiger, with a few exceptions. He was a young male who was extremely muscular, and was relatively tall for a tiger. His long flowing mane seemed almost slicked back and it came almost halfway down his back. His golden eyes were fixed on Genki and they had an intensity that had never passed before him. And apart from the long scar that ran down under his right eye, he was relatively handsome. Genki felt like it was old times again standing in the same room with one of his long lost friends. He didn't dwell on this long though.

"There's something I need to talk to you about." Tiger told him sternly.

"So I've heard."

The wolf-like monster walked around the bed, jumped up, and lay down next to him. Then they locked gazes.

"There's another."

"Another?"

"Another hidden power, another danger, another...Phoenix."

Genki tensed at those words and then turned onto his side so he was facing Tiger.

"How?" he asked after a pause.

Tiger didn't answer this but instead turned so their faces were only inches apart. Genki could tell by the mask (expression) his face wore that something was wrong.

"What is it?" he asked softly.

Tiger sighed and looked him straight in the eye.

"It's called the Savage Sword." he breathed, "Whoever holds it in his hand has the key to a power beyond anything imaginable."

"It's been hidden for centuries, and no one knows its exact location." he continued, "It's been lost to the world since the Final War."

"Then why so secretive?" Genki inquired, "If it's gone then let's leave it that way."

"There are those who do not wish it to remain lost." was Tiger's answer, "If it is found...this planet will tear itself to pieces."

Genki studied him for a moment.

"That's why you were attacked on the road wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"Why me?"

"They like to remain anonymous. No witnesses."

Genki knew that this was logical but there was something that Tiger seemed to be keeping from him, something personal that he didn't want him to know.

"I've managed to keep on the run for quite some time now without being caught. I've been attacked more than once before though, twice tonight."

"You and me both."

Tiger jerked at this.

"You were attacked? Other than the road."

Genki nodded. "Yeah."

"Where?"

"Holly's village. It was destroyed."

Tiger seemed to be contemplating this news and he quickly asked the question Genki had already seen coming.

"Who was it?"

"I don't know?" Genki said, sounding disappointed. "All I know is that it was a tiger and nothing more."

Tiger seemed even more surprised when he heard that.

"It was alone?"

"As far as I could tell."

The wolf looked deeply troubled and Genki saw this immediately. It was hard to miss.

"What is it?"

"They always travel in packs. Always." Tiger muttered, "Why was it alone?"

"It was different from the dinos." Genki remembered, "It seemed...very intelligent. And it was an excellent fighter. In every sense it was toying with me."

Tiger clung to his every word before losing himself in thought again. He shook his head after a minute and looked at Genki intently.

"There's something more. Something I'm not seeing." he asserted, "Maybe I'm overreacting. Or maybe I'm not. Either way I won't lose you again."

He delayed slightly before asking the next question. "Will you come with me?"

Genki paused for a moment before he answered.

"What of the others?"

"They'll come as well."

Genki sat back and reflected on this for awhile. He was wavering.

"Look." Tiger squeezed Genki's shoulder lightly, "I'm here for you. But I need you to watch my back. This is going to be dangerous. Maybe worse than before. But you have to trust me, like you did before."

"This isn't before Tiger. I didn't come back to fight. Not again."

"What, do you think I asked for this?" Tiger was irritated, "I never got a chance to live the life I wanted Genki. But I'm trying to do what you taught me. I'm trying to protect others. It's getting harder every day and I don't know how much longer I can go this alone. Life's a bitch and you of all people should've learned that by now."

"What do want me to do? Start another war? I'm sick of killing, Tiger, and you of all people should realize that."

"I can't believe you're still so difficult." Tiger said exasperated.

"And I can't believe you're still spoiling for a fight."

"Yeah well some habits die hard!" Tiger sneered and he leaped off the bed.

They turned away from each other in disgust and finally Genki spoke, but forcibly.

"Alright."

"What?"

"I said 'Alright'! We'll go with you."

Tiger paused and then smirked at Genki's annoyed expression. He jumped back on the bed and pulled the young man to him, holding him firmly and whispering "Thank you."

Genki closed his eyes and stroked Tiger's mane softly. He gave a short laugh.

"I guess I sort of miss the group arguments and getting the tar beat out of me." He grinned. "Sounds like fun."

Tiger looked into his eyes gratefully and then jumped to the floor almost silently. They gazed at each other and smiled. Then they both lay back down and closed their eyes, getting their first sleep of the long night.

Genki awoke the next morning feeling like he had gotten half an hour of sleep. Tiger didn't help to improve his mood because the blue wolf had gotten around the same amount as he had. In fact, their first task of the day was to scream irritatedly at each other so loudly that they were asked to leave the hotel. They told Holly, who naturally threw up her hands in undisguised contempt and told them that they would meet them at the opening of the road that was to lead them away from the place.

Suezo and Mocchi had been so astonished to see Tiger that they spent all morning trying to talk to him but he seemed unmoved as to seeing them again. They left immediately, at Tiger's insistence, and traveled at a fairly brisk pace. They were relatively quiet as they moved down the road, Mocchi and Suezo were the only ones engaged in conversation, and Holly was feeling unnerved. Her gaze shot nervously from one party member to the other, and her hand slowly made its way to her neck. Clenched tightly in her fingers when she looked down, was the Magic Stone. She was reluctant to tell the others about it yet, why she did not know. It was just a feeling she had, something nagging at her to not let them know, not yet anyway.

"I knew you'd never let it go."

"What?" she asked startled.

Genki never turned around, "I figured that you still had it, you were too attached to it to give it up. It did do half the journey for us after all.

"Yeah...I guess." she muttered.

She didn't really want to talk about the journey, and what it had cost them. She felt guilty for the things that had happened to the innocent people trying to help them in their quest. But that was their decision right? She should stopped them, she decided, 'Then I wouldn't have to feel this.'

"Where are we going anyways?" inquired Suezo in his usual scratchy voice.

Genki glanced at Tiger, who obviously had no intention of acknowledging him, then elbowed him.

"Well? Are you going to answer?"

The wolf-like monster snorted, then walked a little faster. Genki finally turned around and said simply,

"On another journey."

Suezo looked irritated, "What does that mean? That tells me nothing!"

"Well that's all your going to get, so figure it out."

Genki tuned out Suezo's angry remarks from there on, paying attention to the gravel road in front of him, following Tiger down the road. The blue wolf looked up at the mountains that the road traced and Genki saw in his piercing eyes a longing that he didn't expect.

"Miss Grey Wolf?" he asked without glancing at Tiger.

Tiger too looked startled but didn't answer his friend. He kept his intense gaze forward, looking for something that not even he had ever seen. They continued on as the sun continued to rise and shone on them with a shimmer that didn't really match their moods.

The journey began.


	4. Menace

In the outside world, the day was new, with new challenges to be met as life went on. In the far north however, things were different. Such was it with Mount Kyros, and the area surrounding it. It was as dark as coal and inside it was something that was not meant to be. Evil is a terrible thing, but two evils can tip the balance of power, and this was known.  
  
The base that remained undiscovered in the peak of Kyros was vast, with corridors stretching to the far reaches of the mountain. Some led up to the freezing surface, but these were rarely used. Troops guarded the entrances to the base on some rare chance that it might be found and they were heavily armed and had powerful attacks. No one could get through.  
  
Mist lined the walls and inside it was deceivingly cold, for a fire burned inside, and under, and on the outside of the base. This was the power. This was the evil. It engulfed the doomed mountain, and not even the troops that flooded the complex had any idea of what exactly they were getting themselves into. Maybe it was better for them that way.  
  
A shadow slipped up and down the corridors, scanning the area with its sharp stare. The rough stone under its feet seemed unflawed as it drew closer to the heart of the base. The soldiers and guards gave it a wide birth, having no particular death wish and not wanting to condemn themselves to the pain it could inflict. It never paused as it entered the center chamber and its fiery mane swept back in a slight draft. Standing at a massive window was a form, and it looked over the landscape scornfully without acknowledging the other presence in the room with it. The first figure paused and looked to it expectantly, standing in a position from which it could quickly dodge anything.  
  
"You summoned?" it inquired in a soft but fierce voice.  
  
"Of course." replied the second, "If I hadn't you wouldn't be here would you?"  
  
It then abruptly raised up to its full height and it towered over the first, its long dragon-like neck extending up to its normal length. The first figure looked unfazed and looked up at it curiously. It stared back with eyes like daggers, cutting into their target mercilessly.  
  
"We have a threat." it stated bluntly  
  
"Do we now?" asked the first half-sarcastically.  
  
The second figure turned back to the window and continued.  
  
"There is a group." it said coldly, "It consists of four right now but it will grow. They are after the Sword."  
  
"I see."  
  
"It is made up of the former rebels, the ones who...defeated..." he trailed off, "They are expert fighters."  
  
The first figure nodded and closed his eyes in thought.  
  
"So they have a power then? Like ours? They must be powerful to overcome odds such as they were up against."  
  
"Many things worry me." interrupted the second, "They each have many skills. Put together with their many followers and allies, they are a formidable opponent. They are not a major problem right now but they could turn out to be one. They must be dealt with, Scimitar, swiftly and severely."  
  
Scimitar gave a half-grin and laughed darkly, "Don't alarm yourself Master Thunder. When I'm through, it will be as if they never existed."  
  
With that, the tiger swung around and strode away, the breeze toying with his black fur. A skull lay in his path, obviously one of the former prisoners that had pushed the Master's temper, its jaws open in a death scream. He crushed it with one paw.  
  
"One of them, a girl, wears a stone, an amulet that can lead them to the Sword. Destroy it."  
  
Scimitar answered without turning. "So I'll deal with the bitch first. And what of the others?"  
  
Thunder smirked and answered, his voice dripping with venom. "Shake them up a little. Cripple them."  
  
"Yes Master." Scimitar smiled and kept going. He vanished in a flash of light.  
  
Thunder turned back to the window. He grinned, his long teeth reflecting the little light in the chamber.  
  
"And so it begins." he taunted to no one and then laughed, "And so it begins."  
  
The mountain seemed to grow darker with these words and the wind picked up. A storm was forming over Mount Kyros. 


	5. Scimitar

Here's Chapter 5 for anyone that was waiting. I redid the middle part and I think it came out better. Please Read and Review!!!  
  
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The night returned as the day faded into nothing, and with it came the feeling of dread that Tiger had not been able to shake for some time now. He knew that if he glanced at his companions, they would think something was wrong, and would demand the whole story, then and there. It was for this reason that he kept his gaze fixed on the way ahead, even though he was not paying attention to it. He was locked in his thoughts, a world of their own, and his dark past taunted him from there, making him a crueler being than before.  
  
He remembered when the world had changed, when it had started to become something to fear once again. It seemed that no one else had noticed. 'Maybe they didn't want to.' he mused. He resisted the urge to cry out in frustration as he remembered all his own failures. It was something that seemed to plague him: failure. He'd failed his own brother, and even though it had all worked out in the end, he still felt guilty.  
  
'You should you bastard!' he scolded himself, 'You're hiding secrets again! Ones that could get you all killed in the long run!'  
  
"Oh, get off my case!" he mumbled.  
  
"You say something Tiger?"  
  
"No Suezo."  
  
"Oh."  
  
He looked at Holly. She walked silently, clutching at the Magic Stone, looking just as unhappy as he was. That was understandable though. Her village had been wiped out, and she'd never seen the monster that had done it. Tiger was still puzzled over the attack Genki had described to him; it didn't make sense. One monster. Only one. He remembered something that one of his former pack members had told him.  
  
"Evil always travels with a companion. Any form it is in, it's never alone."  
  
These words he'd kept with him, and they had helped defeat many strong opponents. This attacker was exactly the opposite. He had been alone. Or had Genki lied? He studied the young man.  
  
'He seems colder than he was. He appears the same on the outside, but inside something's wrong. Like in me.'  
  
Tiger of the Wind shook his head and turned back forward. He looked around cautiously and took in their surroundings. It was only slightly wooded and a cold northern wind swept the area, making them shiver a little. It was relatively flat and you could see for a distance in most directions. It was very open for an attack. An attack no one besides he and Genki would even think would happen and even they had their strong doubts. Then he got a very strong feeling of alarm and stopped.  
  
"Hold it." he told the others suddenly.  
  
"What for?" Hare wanted to know.  
  
Tiger sniffed the air warily and his eyes narrowed as he looked straight ahead.  
  
"Company." he growled vehemently  
  
But no one came.  
  
"Losing your touch are you Tiger?" Hare asked with a grin.  
  
"Shut up!" Tiger spat.  
  
"Let's go." Genki said slowly.  
  
"No! We're being watched! I'm sure of it!" Tiger insisted.  
  
"Then let's go and get away from it." Genki said more forcefully.  
  
The others slowly followed him, and Tiger finally gave in and tailed them. They went back to their unnerving silence. It was broken.  
  
They had not gone more than 30 feet when Tiger went stiff again. This time though, they all shared his worry. A low laugh had been heard, floating on the wind, and it rose in power slowly. Tiger's gaze shot back and forth around him, but could not pinpoint the source. Then his piercing golden eyes fixed on an object not more than 10 feet in front of them. He froze. That had not been there 2 seconds ago and there was no place to hide! The 'object' slowly looked up and they realized that it was the source of the unearthly laughter. It had a knowing grin on its face and its eyes were bloodshot as it glared at them menacingly. Genki's breath caught in his throat as he recognized it. The tiger from Holly's village!  
  
"Sooooo...there you are..." it rasped softly.  
  
"You!" the young man hissed.  
  
"You know him Genki?" Holly asked nervously.  
  
Genki didn't answer. Tiger growled and the other's gazed lingered on him for a few seconds. Then it scanned the others. Tiger was surprised at its muscle and tried to hide it.  
  
"Who are you?" Holly inquired of it sharply.  
  
Still the tiger didn't answer. Its stare cut into them like a knife and it was nerve wracking. Then it spoke, and its voice dripped with venom.  
  
"Rebels..."  
  
"Huh?" Suezo blurted in confusion.  
  
It ignored him and locked gazes with Genki.  
  
"I see you remember me. I'm honored."  
  
Genki didn't reply but it continued to stare him down, even as the others looked on.  
  
"They call me...Scimitar."  
  
"What do you want?" Genki asked, trying to keep from attacking the creature for earlier.  
  
"Your head." Scimitar stated bluntly, accenting the last word, making him flinch.  
  
Tiger snarled at this but unlike most of his enemies, the other did not snarl back. Before he could say anything though, Scimitar laughed and gave them a dangerous look.  
  
"You seven have seen more than your share of sufferings in your life." he sneered, "All I'm going to do is put you out of your misery."  
  
Then he circled them, keeping his eyes fixed on the most powerful members of the group before facing them again. They stood at the ready and his eyes flashed. He stared directly at Tiger.  
  
"I see a darkness in you. A seething hatred that you could never know was there."  
  
Tiger was trying desperately to keep his temper at bay. He realized that the wolf-like monster was powerful and he had to keep his friends between himself and it.  
  
"Do you feel the world changing around you Tiger? Do you feel it slipping away from your grasp? Just like so many of the ones you loved have already done?"  
  
The blue lupine didn't answer but was almost hyperventilating as he tried to calm himself.  
  
"This will only add to that long list my friend. You thought that you were done with your pain? Well I've got news! That was only a sample of what's to come! You thought you were immune to evil after it was 'destroyed'?" he gave a low laugh, "You have no idea of my power."  
  
Then he circled them once again and Tiger and Genki faced him as the others stayed a little behind. Then, from behind Scimitar, appeared a small group of them, most likely under his command. They stepped in a little behind him.  
  
"I know the source of your power and I promise you that it will not last. I have been sent to make you suffer and I will not cede until you do."  
  
And with these last words, Scimitar turned his back on them and walked away behind his troops. He stopped after around 15 feet. Then he looked at the small group.  
  
"Here's your first test rebels! Hope for your sake that you pass. Welcome to my nightmare!"  
  
Then he gave a loathsome laugh and they looked at him with anger, and also curiosity. But a few seconds later, a bright light blinded them. When they could see again, Scimitar was gone...and his troops were still there, standing firm in an arrow attack formation, getting ready to charge!  
  
"He's gone!" Genki yelled in amazement but abruptly changed his focus as the leader shouted a command to his subordinates.  
  
"You heard the master! Let's take these bastards to the ground! Attack!"  
  
Hare stood in an attack stance and hit the first one that tried him. This made the others more cautious in their approach, but did not dissuade them from their prey. Hare gave a half grin and stood ready  
  
"Welcome to my nightmare!" he taunted and they ran at him. He kicked one, and punched anything else that moved around him.  
  
Genki fought off various attackers and whooped a battle yell as he sent a soldier careening into his comrades as they prepared their assault. Tiger grinned at this from his position in the battle and proceeded to electrocute one and send the another over to the waiting Suezo, who caught its back leg with his tongue and spun around before releasing it to fly off for a rough landing.  
  
The leader sent in more troops, and finally, when he'd run out of them, he came in himself. He hit Suezo in the back and tackled the unaware Holly to the ground. He was immediately kicked off, and then hit in the air by Hare, who then watched as Genki kicked him back down and he landed, neck first, on Tiger's waiting horns. The blue lupine then let him slide off and proceeded to purposely step on his face as he walked over him.  
  
"Well that was fun chi." Mocchi said sarcastically.  
  
Holly ignored the little monster and stared directly at Genki.  
  
"Genki, who was that?!" she demanded of him.  
  
He didn't answer and looked of into space as the wind toyed with his hair. Tiger joined in.  
  
"He seemed to know you." he stated bluntly, "Why?"  
  
Still Genki didn't answer. Tiger's impatience showed.  
  
He slowly nodded his head. "It was the tiger from Holly's village wasn't it?"  
  
Genki lowered his head a little.  
  
"What do you care if I know the truth huh? Or are you lying about everything?"  
  
Genki started visibly at this but did not turn around. Instead, the retort he shot back made the others uneasier than they already were.  
  
"You taught me everything I know Tiger, so you tell me."  
  
Tiger stared at him with a look of anger mixed with surprise. Then he walked up alongside him.  
  
"Let's go." he growled darkly and gave the young man a dangerous look as he slowly walked away. He never looked back at them as they followed him. 


	6. Pressure Points

Sorry about the wait! I was on vacation and I have an English Honors project due in 20 days. I post the chapters as I finish them. Please review!!  
  
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The night came and the tension had not eased between the searchers. Holly clutched at her magic stone and wondered what they would do if they ever found this sword. Scimitar's words couldn't have been true could they? 'No.' she decided, 'He must've been lying.' But then she looked around at her friends, and her fears returned. She was worried about Tiger and Genki. They had been so happy to see each other at first, but now they gave each other looks of anger and disgust. She was only praying that it wouldn't come to a head. She was worried about Golem, who had scarcely said a word over the past few days and showed no apparent signs of doing so any time soon. She was worried.  
  
Genki stared intently at the ground as one by one, his friends went to bed. He had only been wondering at the motive of Scimitar when Tiger had called him a liar. He fought it in the only he desired to: words. But the look that passed between them after those words...  
  
He shuddered. For more than a few seconds, he was sure that they would come to blows. He had no wish to fight the wolf-like monster but being called a liar was something he absolutely hated. He and Tiger exchanged a look before Tiger fell asleep and then he lay down himself and was claimed by his exhaustion...  
  
That is, until he was jolted awake by something grabbing him by the neck. His eyes shot open and he stared into the intense face of Naga once again.  
  
"Do you have to do that every time we talk?" Genki rasped irritably.  
  
Naga didn't answer this time though. He stared at Genki and his black eyes seemed to be looking right through him, down into his thoughts.  
  
Naga shook his head. "I told you that nothing had changed. You're as ignorant as ever Genki."  
  
"You sound like Tiger." Genki choked, "Can you let go?!"  
  
Naga looked him over and then released his grip.  
  
"I see you've met Scimitar."  
  
This startled Genki. "How did you know that?"  
  
"I've been watching you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Naga didn't answer this but instead turned and slithered over to the edge of their camp. He stared off into the night.  
"He is more powerful than you can know Genki. He spoke the truth."  
  
Genki studied him. "I didn't doubt his words."  
  
"Didn't you?" Naga sneered, "I thought you were the best at everything."  
  
The words stung and Genki flinched at the tone they were presented in.  
  
"That was a long time ago. I'm not that person anymore."  
  
Naga scanned him. "So I see."  
  
Genki turned back toward the camp and ran his hand through his hair slowly. Naga's visits hinted at something but the former baddie wasn't ready to say anything.  
  
"Cut to the chase," he told Naga, "What do you want?"  
"To help."  
  
"Well you're not doing a very good job!" Genki said sarcastically.  
  
"You have no right to judge me."  
  
"Why not? I thought you were above making mistakes."  
  
Naga whirled and Genki saw that his fists were clenched. The serpent slithered towards him and stopped only a foot or so from him. Genki was relatively tall but Naga was still taller. He scowled at the rebel and leaned in close to his ear.  
  
"Watch yourself my young friend. Words can kill."  
  
Then he slithered away into the darkness but turned around just before he was out of sight.  
  
"And so can I."  
  
Then he was gone. Genki stared off after him for awhile before returning to his place on the ground. He shook his head and lay down, letting sleep claim him. But he had not closed his eyes for 6 seconds when he suddenly felt uneasy. He lifted his head once more and looked around. The feeling didn't go away. He looked at his friends and was startled when he saw Hare looking back at him. They looked around but saw nothing. Genki slowly lay back down again and suddenly felt something shoot into the ground next to his head with a loud thud and the sound of metal. A lance protruded from the ground and he sat up fast. But something followed it. From out of the trees jumped a centaur and he landed on Genki, jumped off and kicked Hare with his front legs.  
  
Hare grunted and flew a few feet before rubbing his jaw in pain. Tiger bolted up and so did the rest of the camp, all wanting to know what was going on. More centaurs jumped down from concealment and they swung at the rebels with their weapons in powerful swipes that Genki and the others only barely managed to dodge.  
  
"LIGHTNING ATTACK!!" Tiger shouted and one of the centaurs dropped his sword and shook before his life was ended violently. Suezo bit one in the neck hard and it dropped to the ground with a broken neck. The first one feinted a move towards Holly and swung hard at Genki, creating a long cut on the young man's torso. He then punched Mocchi out of the air without looking and held Holly at swordpoint with a deadly calm expression on his face. She stared at him in fear.  
  
"Game over." he stated with a set face and twitched the sword just enough so the cold steel cut Holly's neck the slightest bit. The other rebels had ceased fighting and looked on in concern for their friend and her breaths came out in shallow spurts as the sword cut deeper every moment. Suddenly, he swung at her head and tried to disembowel her. He was met with another sword. They all looked up and standing in the light, his cloak flowing freely about him, was Naga. He quickly punched the centaur commander and brought his sword down on its neck. Two dull thuds were what they heard before the rest of the troops ran off terrified. Genki smiled.  
  
"I didn't think you would come back."  
  
Naga gave a lop-sided grin. "Neither did I."  
  
"Come back?" Suezo asked accusingly.  
  
Genki winced and realized his mistake. Then he turned and looked at the eyeball monster with an apologetic smile.  
  
"He came a little earlier...but I didn't think you guys would've been interested!"  
  
Tiger wasn't amused. "Try me."  
  
Genki gave him an irritated stare before turning back to Naga.  
  
"You wanna stay with us for awhile?" Holly asked, "It's no trouble really!"  
  
"No." was his blunt reply. "I have a mission myself. Sorry."  
  
"What mission?" Golem asked  
  
"I can't tell you." the serpent hissed, "Goodbye."  
  
Then he left as quickly as he had come. Holly shook her head and lay down again. Tiger took the first watch.  
  
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Thunder stood in the center room of his lair. Bodies littered the ground from those who'd defied him in the past and he stood impassively as someone entered through the large metal doors. It was a red dragon. Its eyes were black pits with a dead set look to them and it stalked forward in a calm but fierce manner before kneeling before him.  
  
"You summoned Master?"  
  
"Fireblood," he spoke, "I want you to take a team of your troops and attack the rebels. But bring me the bodies of the wolf and the leader. Go."  
  
"Yes master." he bowed and then spread his wings, the ends of which looked like blades, and soared up out of sight. Thunder remained where he stood, and watched the dragon until he disappeared from view.  
  
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Fireblood stood before his troops and stared at the earth in front of him. Some of his troops looked at him expectantly. He didn't look up.  
  
"Did the master give us a new mission?"  
  
The dragon nodded. "And we're going to carry it out too, but not tonight."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Let them relax a little." he said, "We'll strike when they think that all is well."  
  
"Any ones that shouldn't be touched?"  
  
"He wants the bodies of the leaders but that's all. Kill the rest."  
  
"We look forward to it."  
  
"As do I...As do I."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next few days were relatively uneventful and the group trudged on through the wilderness, hoping that they were going in the right direction but getting the feeling that they weren't. The plains had dropped away and a thick forest had begun to come up around them in its place. Holly had considered asking them if they should try the Magic Stone once more but refrained from doing so. She wondered at her own decision to hold back and found nothing that would explain it so she dropped the subject.  
  
They ate at noon and were silent throughout most of the rest of the day, pausing here and there only to verify their direction. Hare slung his pack over his shoulder when they'd decided and he walked behind Tiger and Genki, who seemed to be avoiding each other's gaze. Hare shook his head at them and looked down at the earth.  
  
"You guys should really lighten up." he chided.  
  
Tiger and Genki looked back at him at the same time.  
  
"Why, praytell?" Tiger asked grudgingly.  
  
Hare gave a laugh. "No, I'm serious! The day is beautiful, and at the moment we're not being attacked, so why don't you two just get over your little argument and enjoy yourselves?"  
  
Genki and Tiger looked at each other before turning back to the road. They came to a river and Mocchi immediately jumped down off Golem's shoulder.  
  
"Water chi!" he screeched before taking a long drink.  
  
The others stopped and Hare bent down after a moment and tested the water.  
  
"Wonder how it would taste?" he muttered to himself.  
  
As he drank, Tiger and Genki grinned at each other. He stood up and turned towards them.  
  
"Well, it doesn't taste half-"  
  
He never finished his sentence as the two pushed him into the water and he came up sputtering.  
  
"What the hell?!"  
  
Tiger grinned, "Just enjoying ourselves Hare."  
  
"Yeah," Genki added, "Your advice."  
  
Hare stared and then smiled. "I'll give you 'enjoying yourselves'!"  
  
Then he got up and chased the two of them before they got into a water brawl. Holly laughed at this but Suezo shook his head.  
  
"You guys are insane."  
  
They promptly splashed him.  
  
"THAT DOES IT!" he screamed and joined in.  
  
Golem looked petrified of the river and purposely stayed as far away from it as he possibly could. Genki sent a wave at Hare, but was immediatly drenched by another from Tiger, who received a splash to the face as payback. They were having a great time and lost track of the day. When they finally came out of the water drenched, Holly looked at them and shook her head.  
  
"You guys will never cease to amaze me."  
  
Their response was to throw her in the river screaming. She came out just as wet...and fuming. Hare smiled.  
  
"Welcome to the club."  
  
"YOU...YOU...YOU..!"  
  
They grinned and walked in the opposite direction. Genki was grinning when he spoke.  
  
"We're gonna get no food for a week but that was worth it though."  
  
Tiger echoed him with a laugh. "Yeah. But look at it this way, what else can she do right?"  
  
He chuckled and they shot a glance behind them to see that she was running at them with a wet shirt coiled into a makeshift whip.  
  
Tiger yelled out in surprise. "Ooooohhhhhh shhhiiiiiiiiittttt!!"  
  
Then they all took off down the road, almost choking they were laughing so hard as Holly yelled out a threat.  
  
"I'm going to get every last one of you so you watch your backs!"  
  
They ran and scattered as it turned into a friendly fighting game. Genki dodged her shirt and laughed. He saw Suezo dodge a swing but then trip over a rock. He laughed out loud and Suezo gave him a grin. He was confused when it turned abruptly to a look of alarm. He was still looking at his friend when he felt a sharp pain in his head and back at the same time and everything went black.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Tiger was looking at Holly and gave a laugh when she missed him. He gave a sideways glance at Genki to see if his friend was doing just as well and his grin quickly turned to a look of shock. He saw the dragon flying at his friend's back, its claws clenched in makeshift fists, but he had no time to shout a warning. He heard a sickening audible crack as the monster hit his friend travelling very fast. Genki grimaced but then his eyes rolled into his head and he collapsed where he stood.  
  
"GENKI!" Tiger heard himself scream but then he felt a stab in his side and fell, only to look up and see another dragon fly away. Then came more. Tiger scrambled to his feet and ran over to the young man, who lay sprawled on his stomach.  
  
"Genki! Genki wake up!" he said as he shook the rebel.  
  
He didn't respond. Just then, he got an uneasy feeling and instinctively ducked. A wing as sharp as a blade flew over him but he couldn't dodge the feet, which hit him away from Genki. He heard Hare cry out and saw him being dragged by a dragon along on his chest. He immediately looked at Genki and took off towards Hare. The dragon fell dead when the lightning attack hit him and Hare breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
"Thanks Tiger! I owe you one!"  
  
"Owe me later! Right now we've got to..."  
  
He trailed off as he saw what looked to be the leader looking down at the immobile young man he'd left a minute ago. It reached down and grabbed him in its jaws before taking off.  
  
"NOOOOO!" Tiger roared and ran at Fireblood, the leader. He jumped and grabbed onto his attacker's clawed foot. The dragon shrieked in pain and grabbed him with the other foot. Tiger struggled wildly in its grasp but then suddenly went still. Fireblood looked down in confusion and saw his cargo prone. He grinned.  
  
'This is going to be easier than I thought.' he told himself confidently. But suddenly, Tiger's eyes shot open and a red glare emerged.  
  
"SUPER TORPEDO!!" he blared and Fireblood could only stare open- mouthed as he exploded in midair, and his cargo plummeted away from where he'd been.  
  
Tiger got over the initial shock of it and got ready just in time. He landed hard and immediately dove to the left, catching Genki right before he hit the ground, hearing one of his legs crack in the process. He panted in pain and slowly got Genki onto his back in a comfortable position. The dragons saw their leader fall and quickly flew away, making the rest of the rebels breathe a sigh of relief. Tiger shouted over his pain.  
  
"Let's...go!"  
  
Then he limped off into the woods back toward their path but couldn't find it, they'd lost the trail. He ran until he reached a clearing in which the same river from before flowed through and the rock face on one side made it relatively sheltered. Tiger stumbled up to a soft patch of grass and slowly bent and let his friend slide gently off his back. He yelped as he tried to stand straight again and slowly lay down next to Genki. Then he tried again but cried out. He finally gave up trying. The others had just come into their new camp and Holly ran over to Tiger.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked anxiously.  
  
"Fine." he snorted stubbornly, "I just twisted it."  
  
He saw that she wasn't convinced and tried to soften a little.  
  
"I'm fine Holly, really." he assured.  
  
Then he stood painfully and slowly pushed Genki down to the river's edge. There he dangled his leg in the water and nudged the young man.  
  
"Kid...wake up." he insisted.  
  
Genki never stirred.  
  
"Come on kid! I...I guess I can't really call you that anymore huh?"  
  
"You can call me that anytime you want."  
  
Tiger looked down and saw Genki resting on his back, his hands behind his head, his face smiling.  
  
"You...You..!"  
  
"So where are we huh?"  
  
"I should punch you for getting me hurt!" Tiger hissed in annoyance but then looked away. "...We're in a clearing...off course."  
  
Genki squeezed his shoulder. "Aw, don't be unfriendly. I'm sure that you'll be fine."  
  
Tiger gave him a look of irritation but looking into his friend's grinning face, he couldn't keep it up. He cuffed Genki playfully and half- smiled back at him.  
  
"This must be one of those bonding moments I've heard of." Hare teased, "That's sweet guys, it really is."  
  
The two immediately looked away from each other and Tiger continued to soak his leg as Genki stood up slowly and walked over to Holly and Suezo. Hare followed him with his gaze and laughed before he lay down. Tiger didn't even bother to respond and Hare lay with his eyes half-closed, waiting for the retort that never came. 


	7. Show Of Evil

**Yeah I know it's short but I think it's pretty effective. Try and give me some reviews because 3 is pretty pathetic. Thanks to those who reviewed though! I owe you one!!**  
  
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Scimitar roared and smashed his fisted paw into a lost disk that lay near his feet, shattering it. His eyes flashed with a blind fury and he destroyed another one. News of Fireblood's demise had come from one of the dragon's own soldiers, and Scimitar had vented his rage for the defeat on him. The tiger hybrid was seething with anger and roared again as he slashed the thing nearest him, a stone jutting from the wall. Then he looked at his own clenched claws and slowly brought them out. A smile formed on his muzzle and he gazed out the window of his temporary lair, his fury now focused on a new target: the rebels.  
  
"I think I'll get involved with the fight." he said to no one. "It's time they got what's coming to them."  
  
Then he slowly disappeared out the entrance and never looked back.  
  
"Oh yes..." he sneered, "This time they won't know what hit them."  
  
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Genki looked at the sun setting and then his gaze moved to the already sleeping Suezo. He felt that despite what had happened earlier, they had gotten a lot accomplished in the day. They'd travelled a great distance and in the process, they'd all gotten some fighting experience, and he felt like it did them some good.  
  
He was also pleased for the seeming end to his quarrel with Tiger. He had Hare to thank for that and he knew that all of them were secretly greatful for it. Genki personally felt that Tiger had by no means softened a lot since he met him in the canyon with his pack, but instead that the wolf-like monster had become even more protective of him. He couldn't place his finger on why, but he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He figured that if Tiger was to come to a decision where he had to choose between Genki or Suezo, then the prideful wolf would 9 times out of 10 choose Genki instead of Suezo. It wasn't that Tiger didn't like the eyeball monster, it was simply that he held a deeper respect and much closer friendship with the young man, who felt flattered and was ready and willing to do anything for the wolf-like monster, but felt that he should give the two of them time.  
  
He knew they had their fights, but these were minor. He didn't think much of them. He thought he'd heard Holly call them "brotherly sniping" but he'd only laughed at the comment. Just the idea that the two of them were acting like they were was pretty funny to Genki but he didn't tell this to anyone. Part of him still held a slight fear of the mighty Tiger of the Wind, even though he knew very well that the wolf-like monster would probably rather die than hurt him. He'd lost too much already in his life to lose the rest of his friends.  
  
He stood and looked once again off towards the horizon where the last light of day was dissipating and waited until it had. His vision adjusted to the darkness quickly but even so, he still had his blind spots. Holly lay down and went to sleep, Mocchi curled up at her side. Genki turned from them and saw out of the corner of his eye, golden eyes fixed on him, glowing in the darkness. He endured the gaze and walked over to a large tree, which he lay down next to. He closed his eyes and toned out the various noises that were echoing around him. But there was one that started out as a whisper, and grew into merely a louder whisper, but it chilled him never the same.  
  
"...never get away...you are mine...seven to six...you are mine..."  
  
Genki sat up fast and glanced around but the unearthly voice came from nowhere. There it was! But there it went. Over by Suezo! But now it's by Golem! He still saw no one and lay down again, but slowly. Then he sat up again when it became louder. He looked towards Holly and Mocchi. Nothing. He looked towards Tiger. Nothing. He looked behind him, and was met by a roar and a sharp uppercut to the jaw. He flew backwards and landed on Golem, who woke up startled.  
  
"What the-" Genki started but was smacked again as he was landed on. He grunted as his attacker jammed his paw into his stomach winding him.  
  
"Shut up." it hissed. He managed to open his eyes long enough to get a look at him. Scimitar!  
  
Tiger was on his feet and lunged at Scimitar but the evil tiger jumped without looking and dodged. Tiger rebounded but Scimitar dodged again. Genki slowly eased himself to his knees and was starting to get up when he was violently hit down again.  
  
"Get down there!" Scimitar's voice snapped and then he was off as he dodged his pursuer again. Suddenly though, he ricocheted off of a tree and went back at Tiger, startling the wolf-like monster and struck him, sending him roughly to earth. Holly rushed over and Tiger shook his head but stayed down. Then Scimitar walked calmly over to Genki, who was on his hands and knees again, and rammed him, sending him painfully back to his position on his back. Scimitar then proceeded to stomp down on his chest, winding him so severly he couldn't breathe right.  
"Chi!" came a voice, "You leave him alone!"  
  
Scimitar cocked his head slightly as Mocchi ran at him. Then Genki saw the tiger hybrid smile down at him.  
  
"Seven to six." he stated, "You are mine."  
  
Then he turned like lightning and struck Mocchi. He grabbed the young monster in his jaws and threw him into the air. Then he jumped even higher, and when Mocchi hit the ground laying shell down, he came down and with a roar punched right through Mocchi's chest. His clenched paw came out through the back, shattering Mocchi's shell. The young rebel's eyes went wide and he spit some blood out. Then, without even a glance at his friends, he slumped back to the ground and lay still. Holly screamed as Scimitar pulled his bloody paw out of the dead rebel. He looked at them and gave a short laugh. Then he turned and walked away, fading into the darkness right before their eyes. Hare got up and chased after him but he was nowhere. Scimitar was gone. 


	8. Trust

Sorry about the wait! I had a lot to do and couldn't finish the chapter but I finally did and here it is. Please Review both this and my other new story, the songfic "Wait and Bleed". I'll try and finish the next chapter faster. Laters!  
  
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There was nothing they could do after Scimitar left but bury Mocchi and seethe over what the evil tiger had done. Genki actually didn't take the young monster's death very hard; but he was still in shock. Tiger continually scolded himself for not forcing himself to his feet and maybe he could've made Scimitar have to dodge and Mocchi would still be alive. Holly just cried for a long time and they all tried to comfort her but Suezo was angry. He felt that the two leaders were not doing anything to help Holly and in his view seemed generally unmoved by the whole thing.  
  
He kept telling himself that Genki at least would cry a little but the young man didn't even flinch. Mocchi had been his best friend for a long time and now it was like he couldn't have cared in the least if Mocchi was still here or not. Suezo was trying desperately not to tell the both of them what he felt. It would certainly not help the situation if he got their tempers flaring. By the time Holly had stopped crying, it was morning and none of them looked like they had gotten much sleep. Hare woke with dark circles under his eyes and Genki hadn't moved from where he sat, squeezing his clenched fist with his other open hand. Tiger was still pacing the edge of the group, and none of them had gotten up enough courage to tell him to stop. Hare looked at the sun and then glanced around.  
  
"So...which way are we gonna head?"  
  
"I'll check." said Holly nervously and for the first time, used the magic stone. After a moment, "That way." she pointed east.  
  
"So let's go!" Suezo pushed impatiently.  
  
Tiger had stopped pacing but looked dark and dangerous from the angle he stood at. Genki said nothing and after a moment, stood up. He walked right past them to the desired direction. He stopped after a moment when he noticed that Tiger still hadn't moved.  
  
"Let's move." he said with no emotion and he sounded almost like a drone in the tone he used.  
  
Tiger looked at him coldly but walked right by them all without even a sideways glance. They followed after a moment and Hare and Suezo shot each other nervous glances. They wanted everyone on the alert.  
  
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"Well done Scimitar." Thunder told the tiger in his deep resonant voice.  
  
"They are not much weakened I'm afraid." replied Scimitar. "But their numbers are down."  
  
"And that's what matters for now." Thunder said. "Destroy the villages they're moving towards. Leave them nothing to salvage. When you do, I will go personally and give them a little...talk."  
  
"Yes master." Scimitar bowed and walked away, leaving Thunder to brood on his own dark thoughts.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
They continued walking in almost a straight line. They remained silent, hoping that their tempers would eventually dissipate. They didn't. Golem tramped along behind the group and kept looking from the road to Tiger, the road to Tiger, and then back to the road. The blue-furred lupine looked positively malicious and no one was talking to him. Holly finally started talking to Suezo about how they were going to get to the village faster and then the rest started as well. All except Tiger and Genki. After around 15 minutes of complete silence from both of them, Hare couldn't take it anymore.  
  
"Look," he said, sounding a little annoyed, "Will you guys just lighten up and say something? It's no use blaming yourselves for it."  
  
There was no answer from either of them.  
  
"Hello?" he called sarcastically, "Anyone in there?"  
  
Then he finally got an answer from Tiger. But it caught him off guard.  
  
"I'm not blaming myself!" he shouted, "I'm blaming you!"  
  
When he said the last phrase, he directed it at Genki with absolute contempt in his voice. Genki looked stunned and like he was ready to kill something at the same time. "WHAT?!" he half-screamed.  
  
"I was the only one protecting him! They were protecting Holly! If you hadn't been such a goddamn coward, maybe we wouldn't be down to six!"  
  
Then he turned and started walking forward again. Genki followed him with his eyes.  
  
"You ungrateful little bastard."  
  
Tiger stopped dead in his tracks. "What did you say?"  
  
"You heard me. A coward? Coming from you that's funny. Don't preach to me your pathetic little problems Tiger, because I won't hear you. I'm sure all anyone asks of you is an 'I feel terrible! I'm sorry!' but you're above that aren't you? Somehow, I'm not surprised that you're too proud to care."  
  
And with that, he stormed away up the path. Tiger followed him with his eyes before looking down shakily at the ground. He was so irate that he was almost hyperventilating and his eyes held nothing but fury and malice.  
  
"Tiger?...Tiger don't...don't!" Golem warned  
  
But then the blue furred lupine exploded in a roar and shot down the path after Genki. The young man had not stopped walking and Tiger jumped on him and dragged him to the ground. He pinned him on his back and in a rage started smacking his face. Over and over again he pummeled him but then Genki fought back. He rolled Tiger onto his back and landed a punch to the muzzle and one to the neck. Tiger promptly threw him off and then immediately they were at it again.  
  
"Stop it! Stop it now!" Holly shrieked but they didn't hear her.  
  
Tiger clawed at Genki and the young man was trying to twist his head away so he wouldn't bite. Tiger bit his arm so he could free his head, and then he slashed him once, twice, thrice, four times before Genki fell back. Then Golem saw his chance and pinned both of them with his massive hands.  
  
"Fighting...solves nothing and doesn't help us on this quest!" he rumbled.  
  
The two of them scrambled away from his hands and then stood facing each other.  
  
"Fine!" Genki hissed as he wiped some blood from his lip with his arm, "You can go ahead and be heartless Tiger! I'm not gonna listen anymore!"  
  
Tiger stood there and panted, just staring at him. "I'm done with you!" Genki finished and then he stormed off up the path, breaking into a sprint and finally fading out of sight.  
  
"Genki wait!" Holly pleaded but he was gone.  
  
"Well Tiger I hope you're happy." Hare hissed as Tiger turned. "You've now successfully managed to split up the group. You should be proud."  
  
"Shut up!" Tiger spat at him. "It was his fault not mine!"  
  
"Look at this ladies and gentlemen," Hare taunted. "Here's the famous Tiger blaming other people and lying at the same time. How does he keep a straight face? Let alone a conscience."  
  
"Rrrrrrrrrrrrr, SHUT UP!!"  
  
"ENOUGH!!"  
  
They all turned to stare at Holly, stunned at her outburst. "Listen," she addressed the group, "We've already seen the baddies' power firsthand, and were fighting instead of planning. Look at us. This is our team. This is our pitiful excuse for a team. What happened huh?"  
  
None of them could answer.  
  
She shook her head. "That's what I thought."  
  
Then she turned away and sprinted up the path. The others slowly followed until only Suezo and Tiger remained.  
  
Suezo hopped a few steps and then stopped. He side glanced at Tiger.  
  
"You're the leader Tiger," he reminded him, "Remember that."  
  
Then he hopped away after the others and Tiger was left standing there, allowing the wind to toy with his mane while he brooded on all the dark thought in his head.  
  
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Genki kept sprinting; past countless trees, through a small stream, and with each step he got farther away from his friends. He only stopped running when he finally collapsed from exhaustion at the entrance to a rather large crevice in the cliff he was at the foot of. He was still fuming over Tiger and he he found that his thoughts did not stray from the blue wolf. He had taken off guard by the accusation and now he was raging to himself. His thoughts only went away from the situation when he started thinking of various ways to kill the lupine in his head. He leaned against the rock face and brought his knees up to his chest, burying his face in the arms he wrapped around them. He panted to try and catch his breath, and was so intent on doing so that he was more than a little startled when he lifted his head to wipe his eyes, standing not more than 5 feet away was none other than Tiger of the Wind.  
  
"Why'd you follow me?"  
  
"I...wanted to talk."  
  
"So you can accuse and taunt me more?"  
  
"Genki please just give me a chance to explain."  
  
Genki glared at him and put his head back on his knees.  
  
"I didn't mean what I said, you realize that."  
  
Genki looked up into his haunting golden eyes. "What?"  
  
"I was looking for someone to blame. I-I needed for it to not be my fault for once in my life."  
  
Genki didn't answer.  
  
"Can you forgive me?"  
  
Genki wiped at his eyes and closed them for a few seconds. Then he answered with a half smile.  
  
"Of course I'll forgive you."  
  
Tiger grinned. "Good. I needed to hear that before I slit your throat."  
  
Genki could've sworn his heart missed a beat when he heard that. He looked up at the blue lupine, who was slowly walking towards him.  
  
"What?" he asked softly.  
  
Tiger laughed and continued to advance on him. Then Genki received the biggest shock of his life. As Tiger padded fiercely towards him, he mutated. His fur color darkened and his strides became more powerful. But it was when his face was seen that Genki cried out in surprise. It was the face of Scimitar!  
  
"YOU!!" he half yelled and edged away.  
  
Scimitar laughed. "You don't know how glad I am to hear you say you're sorry."  
  
"What the hell are you?!"  
  
"I received powers from my master that are beyond you Genki." Scimitar told him. "In your understanding...I'm a shapeshifter."  
  
"You're a murderer! And I want nothing to do with you!"  
  
"That's too bad," Scimitar taunted, "Cause you're gonna be seeing me a lot. In fact, I'm the last thing you'll ever see."  
  
That's when Genki looked the tiger right in the eye and knew he couldn't back away. He stood and faced his opponent.  
  
"Fine then!" he yelled, "You want me? Come and get me!"  
  
"GLADLY!" was the answer and Scimitar attacked.  
  
Then it began. Genki dodged the tiger's lunge and swung his sword in his direction. It didn't even come close and he felt a surge of panic as Scimitar smacked him across the face and sent him sprawling.  
  
"LIGHTNING STORM!!" Scimitar thundered and as soon as Genki got up, bolts struck him from every direction, making his whole body go completely numb. Then came the pain. Genki stood back up and swung at Scimitar again, the tiger dodging out of the way in typical guerrilla tactics.  
  
"TORPEDO!!" he heard and dove out of the way.  
  
But he had not expected this to be exactly what Scimitar wanted. The dark warrior quickly screamed his next attack and Genki had no way of avoiding it.  
  
"HELLRAISER!!"  
  
For a moment nothing happened, and Genki wondered if the attack had missed him. Then, he felt a burning sensation in his feet and he looked down, to see fire erupt out of the earth where he stood and engulf him. He screamed and fell to the ground, shaking the flames off of him. Scimitar jumped at him and kicked him away from the edge of the fire. Genki got up and fled from him but Scimitar pursued. They chased each other up a steep cliffside and finally the dark warrior caught up with Genki.  
  
He kicked him toward the edge of the drop and Genki rolled to avoid falling to his death. But an uppercut to his jaw changed his direction and before his fell, he swung his sword at Scimitar and finally connected, making his enemy cry out. Scimitar held Genki over the edge of the drop and brought his paw back to strike him down. It was then that Genki saw the fresh slash that cut through the warriors eye. Scimitar roared at him.  
  
"You should have never returned rebel leader! But you did! And now you get to die for your mistake! The Sword will never be within your grasp! Accept that and DIE!"  
  
Then he struck him and Genki plummeted toward the ground below. He saw Scimitar glare at him as he fell from the edge, no smile, no laugh, nothing. Just a disgusted glare that faded when he turned away. Genki waited for everything to go black, and when it finally did, he felt no pain. 


	9. Red Dragon

Here's the next chapter!! Sorry it took me so long, but I finally finished it it seems. So do me a favor and review!!! Tell me how I'm doing. I'll start working on the next chapter soon. Later!  
  
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Scimitar watched the rebel fall absolutely expressionless. The void in his heart where his compassion should have been seemed to devour him more every waking minute and he was becoming more powerful with every passing day. It was not a lifetime away where he would be so feared that the masses cringed to even speak his name. Before, it had seemed too far back to remember, he would glance at the sun and cringe back from the blinding light. Now, all he saw was a dark silhouette resting on an even darker sky. Every hour it seemed to grow darker until one day it would turn into an absolute eclipse and he would live in his shadow world, where only the blind and the treacherously evil dwelled. Or so he guessed. Part of him still remembered staring at the setting sun years ago, telling his comrades... "Here comes the night.". No more. It would always be night for him now.  
  
He obeyed only those more powerful than he...and even they would not be his superiors for long. He went after the rebels because his master had given him those orders. He pursued the two leaders because they posed the biggest threat. But yet, part of him was still reluctant to continue on with his current course. The one, Tiger of the Wind, was especially sickening to look at. Maybe, whenever he did, Scimitar saw himself in an age he'd long since put out of his mind. Now they were even more alike, he mused as he traced the slash by his eye. He looked at the dark horizon and felt the wind push his mane out of alignment, yet he did not flinch. He closed his eyes and lowered his head a little, listening for any sign of life. He heard none. He turned around and walked away from the edge, still listening for something. It did not take long for him to find it.  
  
"You didn't do what I asked. You're still trailing them. Why?"  
  
"I don't know master." he answered, "Something must have crossed my mind."  
  
There was silence for a minute and he turned to see Thunder staring down over the ledge.  
  
"He's not dead, you realize that."  
  
Now it was Scimitar's turn not to answer and the dragon gave him a sideways glance.  
  
"I don't like repeating myself Scimitar. Go and destroy the towns ahead of them. Leave them nothing to salvage. Is that clear?"  
  
After a pause, Scimitar replied.  
  
"Perfectly."  
  
"I'm going to make sure they know they're not going to get any peace." Thunder told him, "You make sure they never recover."  
  
"Yes master."  
  
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They sprinted up the path. The Katos had come out of nowhere and Holly now realized that looking for Genki would have to wait. She ran next to Suezo, who was already tiring because of his body structure. Hare turned and Dragon Kicked one of them back into its advancing comrades before turning and running again. Golem knocked two trees don in such a way that they fell on a few of them, killing them. Tiger a spin-flip sort of maneuver before shooting his "COLD BULLET!!" at them, entombing them in ice. He looked tense and immersed in the battle but somehow he still seemed distracted. Holly though she knew why.  
  
"Did your guilt get the best of you Tiger?" she wondered to herself, "I hope so. Then at least we would know you weren't completely heartless."  
  
The wolf-like monster grinned at seeing another of his randomly aimed attacks impale one of them, hindering the rest as they tried to get over their comrade's writhing body. Up at the front, Suezo was hopping faster than he guessed he'd ever moved. Hare threw a rock at the leader but it missed. He looked back a minute later however and the katos had stopped, standing right in the middle of the path, no longer pursuing.  
  
"Why'd they stop?" he panted to Tiger  
  
"I don't know." was the blunt answer.  
  
But it didn't take long for them to find out. The two of them stopped suddenly as they almost ran into the others, who had stopped dead and were staring at something. Standing in the middle of the path, hands hanging down at its sides, but fists clenched in concentration, was a monster. It gave them an uninterested glance that quickly turned into a piecing glare.  
  
Tiger growled, "Who are you?"  
  
There was no answer for a minute but then the creature reared up to its full height and addressed them cooly.  
  
"Hello again rebels."  
  
Suezo's eye went wide and then he wore a dark look. "Naga..."  
  
"What are you doing here?" Hare asked him confused  
  
"I've come to take something back. Something that you have..."  
  
"Like what?" Golem inquired  
  
Naga didn't answer and glared at them dangerously.  
  
Holly got a feeling of dread in her suddenly and she spoke in a shaky voice, "We're not looking for a fight."  
  
"There's where we're different," was the serpent's reply, "I am."  
  
They all tensed at this and Tiger stepped protectively in front of Holly.  
  
"We don't have to do this you know. You can just give me that stone and it'll go a little better for you."  
  
Holly impulsively clutched at the Magic Stone and the others glared at him.  
  
"Or you can do this the hard way," he grinned wryly.  
  
None of them moved so he shook his head.  
  
"You're just as stubborn as Scimitar said you were."  
  
"You're on his side?!" Hare growled  
  
Naga laughed, "Yes. He's one of my...'friends'."  
  
"Why did you help us if you're with him?!" Tiger snarled.  
  
"I needed your trust. I wanted to get an idea of how you rebels were going about things."  
  
Holly was keeping her eyes fixed on Naga when he suddenly looked her straight in the eye and a thought struck her.  
  
"Where's Genki?!" she blurted out.  
  
He gave her a toothy grin. "That all depends doesn't it?"  
  
Tiger growled, "He better not be hurt Naga or I'll-"  
  
"Or you'll what?" the serpent interrupted, "You might be too late already. Blood loss can kill you, you know."  
  
He laughed and Tiger leaped at him with a roar. He didn't get very far though. Naga hissed something and a burst of red light flashed from his eyes. Tiger froze in midair when it hit him. He wasn't falling, he wasn't moving, he was frozen in mid lunge. Naga walked around the motionless body and shook his head.  
  
"That wasn't too smart was it?" he taunted at Tiger.  
  
"Let him go! Please!!" Holly pleaded.  
  
"Shut up!" he snapped and shot something at her. When it struck, she felt no pain and tried to plead again but realized she couldn't talk. Hare took one look at her and knew.  
  
"H-Her jaw is broken!"  
  
Satisfied, Naga turned back to Tiger and looked him nose to tail.  
  
"You're quite the warrior aren't you? I can use you..." he sneered and then paused.  
  
"But I won't!"  
  
He slowly pulled a sword from a sheath at his side and swung it at the warrior of the wind. They closed their eyes in preparation for the blow, but when they opened them, a figure was fighting Naga and Tiger was on his feet shaking his head as if dazed. Naga snarled and glared at the new fighter.  
  
"DOWNER!!" he yelled and a wall of fire came rushing at the newcomer.  
  
But to their surprise, he was more than ready.  
  
"BLIZZARD!!" he roared and it severed the attack. Then Tiger shouted "TORPEDO!!" and Naga dodged it easily but saw now that he would have to put up a good fight to beat them. Without a word, he stepped back, cut the air with his sword, and was gone.  
  
They turned to the newcomer and smiled.  
  
"Thanks." Hare told him gratefully.  
  
"Don't mention it." was the reply as the figure turned to them.  
  
"GREY WOLF!" they shouted in surprise and Tiger grinned.  
  
"Little brother!" he exclaimed happily.  
  
"Hello yourself," Grey Wolf smirked, "You're lucky I was there."  
  
"Yeah, sure." Tiger said dismissively and Grey Wolf shook his head. He stood before them looking as powerful as he always had. He nodded at Holly and the others and walked towards the tree line. He walked into the trees and a minute later came back with something on his back.  
  
"GENKI!!" they gasped and Grey Wolf beamed.  
  
"He's pretty beat up but at least he's alive. I caught him when he fell fighting somebody a ways back."  
  
They heard a moaning and Genki slowly came around. He looked around at the group and then saw Grey Wolf.  
  
"Grey?" he asked confused, sitting up as he spoke.  
  
"Just rest." Holly insisted and softly pushed him back down.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"No you're not."  
  
Genki looked over at Tiger and their gazes met. The warrior of the wind padded up to him.  
  
"Listen..." he started uneasily, "I...I'm sorry...for everything."  
  
"See, that wasn't so hard was it?" Hare joked but Tiger chose to ignore him.  
  
"Yeah, so am I." Genki replied quickly. "But listen, we gotta get to the Savage Sword soon. I...I..."  
  
He sighed. "I think Scimitar is getting stronger. This is gonna sound weird but I think he's being controlled."  
  
Grey Wolf spoke up, "I don't know who this Scimitar is, but if you want my help...you got it."  
  
They all looked at each other and agreed, but Grey Wolf saw it in their eyes before they answered him and he smiled.  
  
"Welcome to the team." Suezo greeted.  
  
Grey Wolf nodded and then looked at Tiger. After a pause, Tiger addressed them in his usual manner, speaking the words they'd heard many times already.  
  
"Let's move." 


	10. Apocalypse

I'm back!! Sorry for the long wait, but I had to think of a direction to take the story. Let me know what you think!! Please R & R!! That's an order!! Later!  
  
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As legend has it, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Many knew this, but few believed. Past the slopes of Mount Kyros, far up to the north, was a mountain known only as Savage. Swirling above it like a porthole was a sky as black as onyx. Up its cold and treacherous slopes, up at the peak, was a cave unchanged by time. Looking into its silent and dark interior, one would find his eyes fixed on an object suspended in an energy beam in the center of the small cavern. Many had heard of it, but few believed it existed. But it did, in all its glory...and evil. It was the one that they were looking for. It was the power they wanted to find. As legend has it, absolute power corrupts absolutely. This legend was of the Savage Sword...  
  
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The first thing the group (now numbering at 7 again) saw when they came over a hill and the terrain changed to a desolate desert, was sand. It stretched for miles and Suezo focused on the horizon fixedly and reported that it was hard to see what lay beyond because of the sandstorm that was brewing.  
  
"But," he told them, "There is a small caravan over there."  
  
He pointed with his tongue.  
  
"Let's try and get to it before this storm gets worse." Hare advised and Tiger made a sarcastic comment like "Nooooo really?!". Hare snapped back a retort and they engaged in their daily argument before they realized that their friends had begun walking towards the caravan. Grey Wolf shook his head.  
  
"Are they always like this?" he asked Holly.  
  
"Most of the time, yes." she answered.  
  
"Sand wears away rock." Golem put a hand up to shield his face. "Not nice."  
  
"You'll live." Tiger yawned and Golem continued on miserably.  
  
It took them a good 2 hours to reach the caravan but when they finally did, they were welcomed warmly. The group had hidden behind a large out of place boulder and planned to spend the night. They immediately welcomed the Searchers into a tent to rest. Inside were a middle-aged man and woman, two youthful tigers and a monol. The rest of the caravan was in the other tents according to them.  
  
"Thank you for having us." Holly thanked them.  
  
"Our pleasure." said the man, who's name was Jim. "We've been pretty bored out here the last couple days."  
  
"Join the club." Suezo remarked and Genki snickered.  
  
The two young tigers, who were just entering their adolescent years, walked up to the rebels.  
  
"No way!" the first exclaimed, "It-It's Tiger of the Wind!!"  
  
"Yeah! You're a legend!" the second added.  
  
"Pathetic isn't he?" Hare grinned and Tiger gave him a death glare.  
  
"Your the greatest thief ever!" the first continued, "All you had to do was look and someone and go RRAARHHHAARR!!"  
  
Tiger raised an eyebrow as the young tiger play growled at him.  
  
"Yeah," Genki teased, "Only a lot less scary."  
  
"Watch it kid." Tiger warned.  
  
"Ooooooooohhhhh scaaaarrrryyyy!" Hare, Genki, and Suezo said at the same time.  
  
"I'm gonna snap you three in half I swear-"  
  
"Okay stop guys!" Holly laughed.  
  
"I know you, don't I?"  
  
The voice had come from the corner and the monol floated out to see them. When they finally got a glimpse of him, they gasped.  
  
"MONOL!" they exclaimed.  
  
"I am Monol." he told them. "My story is my purpose."  
  
"Yeah, we know." Suezo said.  
  
"And once again I must tell you a story of times past."  
  
"Why should we listen to it again?" Hare asked suspiciously.  
  
"YOU MUST LISTEN!" the door-like monster cried.  
  
Tiger leapt to his feet at the challenging tone this was presented in.  
  
"We don't have to listen to anything! Got that?!"  
  
"My story...is different."  
  
They perked up at this but Grey Wolf seemed genuinely confused.  
  
"What are you talking about?!" the silver wolf demanded of them.  
  
"He told us something on our last journey that really helped us," Genki said, "And now we're gonna listen again."  
  
This ended the discussion and Monol asked all others to leave the tent. After Monol was ready, they sat down and closed their eyes. Holly heard Tiger grunt impatiently next to her but she ignored him. After a minute or so, the seven heard Monol's deep voice in their minds.  
  
"Let me take you back. Back to a time hundreds of years ago. Back at the end of the Final War..."  
  
They all gasped as they saw an image engulf them, taking away the darkness that had been there.  
  
"Moo and the Phoenix were doing battle high above the city. But in the streets below, a different war altogether was raging. This was a war far more violent than any story save my own can describe..."  
  
Tiger and Grey Wolf had snarled at the brief sight of Moo but they were silenced as the group seemed to spiral downwards to the dark streets below, where they saw things none of them would soon forget. Fighter jets rained bullets down on struggling monsters and humans below, as the forces of Moo battled whatever good fighters were left. Holly almost gagged as a young man took a centaur's spear through his forehead. A soldier stabbed a long blade through a Dino's eye. A dragon, spitting fire, burned the flesh off of a Zuum. Even Tiger seemed sickened by this but they had no time to reflect on any more as Monol spoke again.  
  
"Many of the good forces had already been turned or killed. The evil generals wanted all to be just like them, but they wanted one group in particular. This was the only ray of hope the good side had besides the Phoenix and Moo wanted it annihilated. It was a group of renegades called "Perfect Assault". The leader of this sect was named Scimitar."  
  
They all gave shouts of surprise and awe as they focused on a group helping some children away from the fighting. They saw a dragon, a zuum, a centaur, and standing up on a protruding piece of debris...a tiger.  
  
"Tiger!" Genki stammered, "I-It's him!"  
  
"It's impossible!" the wolf-like monster cried.  
  
The tiger incinerated an advancing soldier and jumped down from his perch. He seemed very different from the Scimitar they knew. His eyes were a gentle, but still fierce icy blue and he had a totally different air about him, one that must have brought a feeling of security to the people that relied on him.  
  
"Scimitar was widely known as one of the most powerful monsters in the world. He protected whoever he felt needed him but despite this he had a reputation for being brutal, violent, and often cruel. He was a hero to some, and a murderer to others."  
  
The Searchers looked at Scimitar's intense face and Genki couldn't help noticing the similarities he held with Tiger. He looked young, but with a fighting spirit that would gladly vanquish anyone, anyplace, at anytime. Then they zoomed in on the Zuum.  
  
"Scimitar's 'second-in-command' was named Kovu. The two were considered to be unstoppable when they fought together with their other friend Sabre and no one dared challenge them."  
  
The Zuum looked exceptionally powerful for one of his species and the dragon looked like any other dragon but obviously was important judging by the medal embedded in his chest and the battle scars he carried. Suddenly, they saw a blinding flash and Moo and the Phoenix looked frozen in midair. Then they broke apart and their souls flew apart in opposite directions. A shockwave followed and they heard Kovu shout in alarm as a naga close to the epicenter of the light disappeared.  
  
'RUN!!'  
  
Scimitar took off running and the Searchers' eyes were fixed on him as he faded along with everything else. Then they were back in the tent with Monol. They looked around in confusion.  
  
"W-What happened?!" Suezo half-screamed.  
  
"Yeah!" Hare said, "What happened to them?"  
  
"No one knows." Monol stated calmly. "Something happened to them right after what we all just saw. After many of the monsters were unlocked from their mystery disks, no one ever saw any of them again; until today that is. I was shocked to hear that Scimitar had been sighted and even more so that he was a summoner of evil. As for Kovu and Sabre..."  
  
He shook his 'head'.  
  
"No one knows. But remember my story, in case you need it sometime later."  
  
They walked out of the tent feeling mixed emotions. It didn't take them long to say goodbye to the group and thank them for the shelter, for the sandstorm had subsided. They continued on their path and they all found themselves talking at once. Except Genki. He looked off at a distant shadow that their path led to and sighed.  
  
'What happened to you Scimitar?' he wondered, 'What happened?'  
  
Then he turned back to his friends and shook his head, almost hoping that no answer would come. 


	11. Scimitar's Lair

Sorry for the long wait! I had trouble taking this story where I want it to go and I got distracted by other things. The next chapter won't take as long as this one, which is kind of short but crucial. Please REVIEW!!!! Thanks!!  
  
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Thunder gave a hiss. The dragon hybrid stood in his lair and, just as he spent most of his time, looked out the massive main chamber window at the world below. His piercing eyes were unmoving and his cloak fluttered in a wind blowing through the chamber. The matters his mind dwelled on were anything but trivial and he knew it. Something was going to happen. His instinct told him this and he had learned long ago to trust his senses. What exactly was going to happen he did not know, but he didn't think it would be to his advantage whatever it was. Maybe it had something to do with the Sword he was spending mostly all of his resources trying to find. Maybe it was a betrayal headed his way. Scimitar...  
  
'No.' he told himself smugly, 'I did too good a job on him. He's always going to be mine.'  
  
But then there were those rebels. Those rebels... God he hated them. It wasn't a matter of worry, it was a nagging feeling that he had that they would still be a major thorn in his side for quite a while. The fuckers... How dare they think they could challenge him! But they had defeated Moo. That was why they worried him. But Moo had never realized where their power lay. The fool. He'd known all along where they got their strength from. Even Durahan had known where it was while Moo didn't. But that didn't matter now. He needed to deal with them. Sooner or later he would have to. After all, they had some pretty powerful allies. He would wipe them out as well. He shook his head and a small breath of steam emerged from his nostrils. Oh yes, he would deal with them, once he found that sword. Besides, they approaching Scimitar's lair...  
  
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They all stood in a group while Holly checked the Magic Stone. It pointed them in the same direction but no one complained. The sandy desert terrain had given way to forest again briefly but had promptly switched to a more open plains type of area. This did not mean that it warmed up at all though. On the contrary, it had grown progressively colder as they approached what they assumed to be Mount Savage. That hadn't lasted long though, as Hare had been quick to point out that it was in fact Mount Kyros, which they had seen before. It didn't look much different now, with the exception of there being no Moo there anymore and no big excavation going on. They had traveled steadily since the morning, not stopping all day until they came to the mountain's base in the early evening, checking direction.  
  
Tiger had stalked sullenly forward a few paces with the others when he froze. He had caught a scent. He knew that scent! Scimitar! But it was very strong around here. The others had stopped as well as Grey Wolf sniffed at the air as well. He had never actually seen Scimitar, but he had sensed trouble and the others had taken heed.  
  
"What is it Tiger?" Genki asked.  
  
"Scimitar." answered the blue wolf with a snarl.  
  
They all tensed at this and Genki asked the question that they all had seen coming.  
  
"Where."  
  
"Up ahead." said Grey Wolf, "Somewhere up the mountain."  
  
They all looked up the snowy sides of Kyros and then at each other. Then they all agreed. They started forward up the mountainside and never looked back.  
  
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He sat silently on his fiery throne. They were coming. He had smelled and heard them for some time now. They had found him surprisingly fast, he thought, too fast. There was still time to run, but he'd dismissed the thought as soon as it had come to him. He would not run. Why should he? He never surrendered to anyone and certainly not to them. He looked towards the entrance, which they were fast approaching, and grinned.  
"Here we go..."  
  
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Grey Wolf had stumbled upon the entrance to some kind of cave by accident. They had apparently surprised two baddie guards that were there and had quickly killed them. Then they moved into the cave. Tiger grimaced. Scimitar's scent was very strong here. Almost as if it was his...  
  
"Look!" Hare cried.  
  
They had entered into a huge cavern. It had a river of lava surrounding its main area and down in the middle on the ground, which looked like some kind of battle arena, were more baddies. Lots of them. They all dropped to the ground behind a large rock and watched as the baddies watched and cheered as two of their companions fought to the death.  
  
"What is this place?" Holly asked.  
  
"Scimitar's Lair." Tiger told her, "It has to be."  
  
"If we're going to do anything, we better do it now while they're distracted." Grey Wolf said sternly.  
  
"I agree." Genki said softly.  
  
"Why is it so hot in here?" Suezo asked annoyed. "I thought you tigers didn't like the heat."  
  
"He's Scimitar of the Fire, that's why." Genki answered shortly. "But where the hell is he?"  
  
"Welcome to my lair." said a quiet voice.  
  
They all immediately whirled around but saw nothing.  
  
"Up here."  
  
They looked up and saw, lying on a ledge overlooking the entrance with a smug grin on his face, Scimitar of the Fire. Tiger let out a snarl but Scimitar did not answer. Instead, he shot to his feet and turned his burning eyes on his troops. He jumped off his ledge and landed right in front of them. He let out a fierce roar and immediately, all his troops stood at attention, waiting for orders. Genki heard a sound and looked behind him to see more troops cutting off their only escape route. It had been a trap!  
  
Scimitar turned and gave them a toothy grin as his troops surrounded them.  
  
"Don't worry about the pain rebels..." he hissed, "I won't feel a thing!"  
  
And with that, all his forces attacked. The rebels had been standing back to back and when the baddies attacked, they had been ready.  
  
"COME ON!!" Tiger roared a challenge and they all launched themselves headlong into the enemy.  
  
Golem stayed and protected Holly while the others fought. Grey Wolf summoned his torpedo attack and fried a group that was heading his way.  
  
"DRAGON KICK!!" Hare yelled and dispatched a Kato that was about to dice him to ribbons.  
  
A small group of Datonaires dove at Suezo, but Golem backhanded them into the wall, killing most of them instantly. He then picked up the survivors and threw them over the cliff edge into the lava, where the fighters could hear a series of strange gurgling shrieks before silence came from below again. Genki kicked a monol in two and impaled a Scaled Jell with the remaining pieces before turning and looking around. Where was Scimitar? The tiger had disappeared after his troops had attacked. He looked over at Tiger and saw that the blue wolf was not fighting the baddie general and grew even more confused. Then he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and instinctively dodged but nothing hit him. He heard a scream and every one of the rebels all turned in the same direction. They all froze as they saw Scimitar jump on Golem's shoulder and grab Holly's neck in his jaws. Then he ran at blinding speed and leaped out over the cliff edge.  
  
Tiger roared in fury and ran after him but Scimitar had made a series of miraculous jumps to land on a high platform of stone that none of them had seen when they'd entered. He threw her to the floor like a rag doll and immediately turned back to where he'd come from. He shot out with his lightning at Tiger, who deflected it with his own. But Tiger's face warped into a confused mask as Scimitar grinned at the block. Then he realized that he was falling and would not reach the cliff edge. He tried to get the wind to help him hover, but the air was too hot. Then, out of nowhere, Golem's hand closed around him and his fall was broken. He was safe for now.  
  
Back on the ledge however, Scimitar had erected a forcefield around the edges and had then turned towards Holly.  
  
"And now..." he smiled.  
  
Holly stumbled back away from him.  
  
"St- Stay back!" she warned.  
  
"Or what bitch?" he spat.  
  
She flinched in surprise at the tone he said it in and continued to edge away from him. He advanced with a sadistic grin on his face.  
  
"I'm sure the master remembers you." he said, "Too bad he'll never get to see you alive"  
  
Holly suddenly went from confused to angry and grabbing at her dagger, lashed out at him blindly. He ducked the knife and smacked it out of her hands and it landed at his feet.  
  
"Your dagger." he said, sounding unimpressed, "The one your father gave to you."  
  
He then proceeded to stamp his paw down on it, shattering it as easily as if it had been made of glass. Holly stared unbelievingly at the shards that had once been her dagger and felt a tear sting her eye. She did not yet have her wits back when he charged, hitting her to the earth. Then he walked calmly over to her, ignoring Tiger's enraged roar and put a paw on her chest, claws hovering just above her exposed throat. He then raised the other paw and grinned at her fear.  
  
"See you in hell, bitch." he said softly and his paw traveled downwards.  
  
Holly had just closed her eyes and was whimpering in fear when she realized that she felt no pain. Nothing had happened. Had it been a nightmare? She slowly opened her eyes and saw to her horror that Scimitar was still there, his deadly knife-like claws only inches from her throat. But he wasn't moving. No one had stopped him, time had not stopped,...he had stopped himself. She looked up into his face and saw him staring down at her, the same as before, but the look in his eyes was different. It no longer seemed cruel, it seemed almost confused. She saw fear in his eyes. Fear mixed with loathing mixed with shame mixed with regret... not for her or her friends, but for himself. He seemed to suddenly snap out of his reverie and he backed off her. She stared at him in confusion.  
  
"Not me..." he rasped, "No control...trapped...I'm trapped...I can't kill...I mustn't kill...I...I..."  
  
Then he turned and shot his lightning at the roof, barely ten feet above his head. A section of it exploded and vanished and he jumped out the gaping hole and disappeared, leaving them to stare after him in wonder. 


	12. Devil Without A Cause

Devil Without A Cause

Wow…I actually updated! Sorry about the long wait, but I had major writer's block. PLEASE REVIEW and I'll try and get the next chapter out faster than this one. Thanks!

Thunder winced as he felt it. It was like a knife to the side. Betrayal... He'd felt himself lose control temporarily over someone, but who remained a mystery to him. He breathed heavily for a moment before regaining his composure and looking around the room at his lair, his palace. He smiled evilly to himself.

"No one is going to stop me!" he said to no one, "No one! That sword is mine. MINE... And when I find it, no one will be alive to stand in my way."

Then he laughed, and his laugh echoed off the walls and floated out onto the wind, where all the world could hear it. But no one did. And no one wondered what it was that had made the evil master so happy.

It wasn't hard to leave Scimitar's lair, and the rebels did just that as fast as they could manage. None of them wanted to stick around in case Scimitar had sent for backup or came back himself. They soon descended the far side of Mount Kyros and despite their fatigue, continued on for quite some time, so as to get as far away from the evil tiger's base as possible. Throughout that time, they all endlessly debated the same question. Why had Scimitar spared Holly? He had shown how merciless he was by killing Mocchi in cold blood. And he had not stopped his pursuit of Genki, who had more than once gotten the feeling that he was more of a punching bag for the baddie general than a protector of his friends.

By the time they stopped, they were indeed far away from where they had started and Suezo and Golem immediately went to sleep, followed by Holly. The others had started a fire and now sat around it, talking about the journey in quiet voices until they were sure Holly was fast asleep. Then they discussed the burning question. Hare leaned forward and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Why? Just...why? He could have killed her with a twitch of his claws. Why didn't he?"

Grey Wolf snorted.

"Who knows what goes through baddies' minds? What we need to do now is make sure he doesn't come back and finish the job."

Tiger shook his head.

"It doesn't make sense. Up until then, he showed no sign of weakness. None. That back there looked almost like..."

"Like someone had lost control of him." Genki finished for him.

They looked at each other uneasily at the thought of a baddie even more powerful than Scimitar that had the power to control him. Then they came back to their senses as Hare yawned.

"Let's turn in." Genki said sleepily, "We'll discuss the rest in the morning."

"We need a guard though." Tiger warned, though he looked like he obviously didn't want the job.

"I'll take the first watch." Grey Wolf said, seeing this.

"And I'll take the second." Hare volunteered before Genki had a chance to.

They all agreed to the arrangements and then lay down next to their already sleeping comrades. Tiger positioned himself in between Genki and Holly, getting as close to them as he could. He was taking no chances with Scimitar. He felt Genki shift his position and then heard the young man's rhythmic breathing, indicating sleep, and countered it with his own. Then they both drifted off to sleep as Grey Wolf sat by the fire, on the alert.

They awoke the following morning fully rested. Genki was amazed that Scimitar had not returned and he pondered why all through breakfast. None of them said much about the evil tiger, although they were all itching to know the answers to their questions concerning him. They left a few hours later, tense but in high spirits nonetheless. Heading north, they soon were far enough away that they could no longer see Mount Kyros looming behind them. They were all silently grateful for this.

They were not attacked all that day either, and despite their happiness about this, they began to feel uneasy. What were the baddies planning? They all wanted to know, but not very badly. None of them wanted a fight. By the time they settled down that night, however, their uneasiness had subsided, and they talked and laughed late into the night. Holly stretched as Hare finished telling a joke about bandits, which provoked an argument with Tiger.

"I'm going to turn in." she told them as Hare and Tiger growled at each other. "We have a long journey ahead of us still."

Grey Wolf shook his head at his brother and Hare and announced that he would be joining her. Suezo made a sarcastic comment about some things never changing and lay down near Golem. He soon was asleep. Genki lay down near Holly and soon was dreaming as well, leaving only Hare and Tiger awake. The latter lay down near Holly as well, sulking that he had lost the argument, and soon joined his comrades in sleep.

Hare congratulated himself silently on winning the argument with Tiger and stared into the burning fire. He unwrapped his pack and silently began counting the money in it, grinning as the number steadily grew.

"Gold, gold, gold." he laughed quietly to himself, dropping one coin after another into his paw.

Then he put the money back in his pack and looked into the fire, expecting to be staring at a pile of smoldering ash. Instead, he stared at an even larger fire, and a pair of piercing icy blue eyes that seemed to cut into him like knives. He froze, seeing the dark face of Scimitar staring fixedly at him, a dangerous frown on his muzzle, an evil glint in his eye. Hare felt as if all his muscles had seized up, and a chill went down his spine as he realized that he was not near any weapons he could use. Scimitar seemed to be studying him, and Hare didn't like that, especially after seeing how powerful the evil tiger really was. He watched as Scimitar inclined his head and then nodded at Genki. When he spoke, it was in a deadly rasp.

"Wake him. And if you wake anyone besides him I'll burn your face off."

Hare reached out and nudged Genki. He saw that he was trembling and nudged Genki harder when he didn't stir immediately. Genki's eyes fluttered and he looked up at Hare, deep circles under his eyes.

"What? Hare, what is it?"

Hare pointed at Scimitar, his eyes wide, and when Genki looked to where he was pointing he froze as well. Scimitar gave him a half-grin and motioned for him to sit across from him, next to Hare.

"If you wake Tiger or Grey Wolf I'll slit your throat." he rasped calmly.

Genki glanced at the two brothers and then at Hare, who looked scared. Then he did what the wolf-monster said. When he was where Scimitar wanted him, the baddie cut right to the chase.

"What do you know about me that I do not?" he hissed at Genki. "Why do I feel so torn?"

"What?" Genki asked confused, "Why would I know-"

"Who was I?" Scimitar repeated. "You know something, I know you do."

Genki looked at Hare, who looked just as confused. Then he shrugged.

"You were...er... a goodie. Back at the end of the Final War."

"Don't lie to me you little dick!" the wolf-like monster spat. "You know something about my past. Now tell me!"

"You were a leader of the goodies." Genki repeated, "You had friends, Kovu and Sabre."

Scimitar shook his head as if to clear a thought.

"No." he hissed, "I couldn't have been like you. I couldn't have been."

"But you were." Hare said uneasily, "I saw what Monol showed Genki too."

Scimitar shot to his feet. He growled at them.

"No." he rasped dangerously, "I am Scimitar of the Fire. And you are a liar rebel leader. You are a LIAR! And for that you will burn!"

And with that, he shot off into the dark. The moment he left, the fire dimmed and then died. Hare and Genki stared after him, both speechless. None of the others stirred and they stayed where they were until morning.

The others woke to find their two friends sitting around the remnants of the fire, looking like they hadn't slept in days.

"Genki? Hare?" Holly addressed them, confused. "You okay?

Genki yawned.

"Yeah." he answered sleepily, "Insomnia attack."

"Both of you?" Suezo said skeptically.

"He kept me up." Hare responded. "And I'm ready to punch him for it."

"Oh."

Genki barely had time to marvel at how good a liar Hare was because Holly suggested that they keep moving. She checked the Magic Stone and started out in the lead, the others following. Hare yawned but managed to keep on the alert, looking left and right edgily. Genki was trying hard to stay awake as Holly and Grey Wolf discussed their route in front of him. Then he felt a nudge. He looked down and saw Tiger looking at him both suspiciously and concerned.

"You need a lift kid?" he asked with a slight grin.

Genki returned the smile.

"Thanks, but I don't want to burden you."

"It's no burden. You're my friend." came the answer. "Besides, I want to know what really happened last night."

Genki stopped, letting the others get ahead a little. Then he looked at the wolf-like monster.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked weakly.

Tiger chuckled.

"I know you too well Genki. You're not gonna fool me that easily."

Genki hung his head a little but gave Tiger a smile. Then he mounted his friend's back and they continued on.

"Scimitar." Genki told him quietly, "He came last night."

Tiger growled slightly and Genki continued.

"Hare woke me up." he said, "He said if I woke you then he'd slit my throat."

"What did he want." Tiger asked, a touch of anger in his voice.

When Genki didn't answer he stopped and glanced back at him.

"Genki?"

Genki sighed.

"I'm not sure." he answered. "He kept asking me weird questions. Like, 'What did I know about him that he didn't?' and 'Who am I?'. It was creepy."

Tiger took this all in and then turned back to the road.

"How did he take your responses?" he asked, the note of fury still there beneath the surface.

"He told me that I was a liar and that I would burn because of it." Genki responded.

Tiger stopped dead.

"He threatened you!" he asked, not bothering to hide his anger this time.

"Tiger, it's okay!" Genki told him in what he thought was a soothing tone. "He can't kill me yet. He didn't get all his answers. Besides, if he wants me he's gonna have to come and get me."

Tiger turned back to the road, seething slightly. Genki smiled and gripped his shoulder.

"Don't worry Tiger," he said, "I'm not going anywhere."

Tiger gave him a half smile. Then he sprinted up the road after others. They didn't have to go far, and Tiger nearly ran into Golem, who was stopped in the middle of the road along with the others. They all had looks of horror on their faces, and appeared to be staring at a tree in front of them. Genki dismounted from Tiger and walked up to Holly and Hare, both of whom looked sick.

"Holly? What's go-"

But he stopped in mid-word. Then he felt his stomach drop to his feet. He took a few steps forward and found that what he was staring at was in fact real. Nailed to the tree in front of them was the upper half of Monol and next to him, the head of Jim, the caravan leader, who's mouth was frozen in mid-scream and who's eyes had a look of absolute disbelief and shock. Carved in the wood above them, tinted in blood, were the words that would haunt the group for days.

TELL ME THE TRUTH OR BURN


	13. Dangerous Game

Alright! I actually updated! One note, though: This chapter has a few moments that could be mistaken as suggestive. Tiger and Genki are still JUST FRIENDS! Thank you. Now go on and review.

They left the tree the way it was, none of them daring to remove the heads from it. Genki found his eyes darting left and right all the rest of that day, looking for any movement out of the corner of his eye. And if he didn't see anything, the others surely would. They walked with him right in the middle of them, keeping an eye on him at all times. Tiger especially was making Genki's protection his personal crusade. He shadowed the young man anywhere he went and whenever they continued on the quest, he walked so close to Genki that they were almost always touching in some way. Not even Genki's insistance that he could handle Scimitar when and if he came did anything to assuade the group's fear for him and he had to endure their heightened security at all times. When he slept, they slept practically in a circle around him and Tiger slept right next to him, the two of them so close that they could hear each other's heartbeats. Genki was also adamant that he hone his fighting skills, which puzzled the others, but he insisted on it. He practiced with Hare and Tiger when they weren't travelling and he seemed to get better in only a few short days.

Five days after they found the heads, they began to get into mountainous terrain and the air began to get cooler. They had only gone half a mile into the mountains when it began to snow, and by the time they descended, it was four feet deep. This did not seem to bother Grey Wolf or Tiger in the least, but Hare, Suezo, and Golem seemed miserable. This continued for the next day, until they reached an impass.

"Well, what now?" Hare shouted above the wind as they reached the cliff where the path had clearly once been.

"I wonder how far down it goes?" Suezo said nervously, hopping away from the edge.

"Let's push Hare over and see." Tiger snorted.

"We could push you over instead Tiger, but with your head so inflated you might float away." Hare responded sarcastically.

"What did you say!" Tiger roared.

"You heard!"

"GRRRRRRRRRRR!"

"Need a lift?" came a voice as the two growled at each other.

The group looked up and saw a familiar face. Genki and Holly smiled at each other as the group moved back to give the newcomer room to land.

"Your timing is amazing Falcon." Genki shouted. "We **could** use a little help about now."

The dragon laughed.

"So I see. What possessed you to take this road anyway?"

The group glanced at each other uneasily. Then Tiger spoke up.

"Get us out of here and we'll explain everything!"

"Done." said Falcon, and with that two other dragons suddenly flanked him and the group split up and mounted them. Then they were carried off until they landed safely on the other side of the mountains, in an area with mostly open fields and a few trees littering the landscape. The wind died down significantly and they dismounted in front of a large tree that stood out among all the others.

"So, why are you all the way out here?" Falcon asked pointedly. "You're lucky I was passing by."

Tiger explained about the Savage Sword and then told the pirate dragon leader about Scimitar's continued harrassment of them. Falcon seemed taken aback.

"The Savage Sword? I thought that was a myth!"

"It's not." Tiger answered. "The baddies are looking for it too."

"Can you help us Falcon?" Holly asked the dragon.

He gave her a frown. Then he nodded.

"All the stories I've ever heard about the Savage Sword were different, but all of them had two things in common. They all said that it would give the wielder unlimited power, and they all claimed that it was buried deep in the center of Mount Savage."

"That makes sense." Suezo said. "Why didn't we think of that before?"

They ignored him and kept their attention on Falcon. Grey Wolf stepped forward.

"Mount Savage is at least 7 days north of here." he said with a growl. "Is there a faster way to get there, Falcon?"

"Not that I know of." answered the dragon. "And I'm not prepared to fly all the way to Mount Savage. It would take 2 days flying."

They all sighed dejectedly but the pirate dragon chuckled.

"Look," he said with a smile. "We can take you as far as the Dark Forest before my troops and I have to turn back."

The group looked at each other, amazed at their good fortune. They split up again and mounted their dragon escorts. Falcon took Genki, Tiger and Holly while one of his other troops took Grey Wolf, Hare and Suezo. The third dragon carried Golem. They were just about to take off when Tiger's senses went wild. He whipped his head around in confusion and suddenly the dragon carrying Hare, Suezo, and his brother shrieked. Everyone watched in shock as the dragon's skin seemed to melt off, making him seem a screaming lump of meat. Then his flesh fell off as well, leaving him nothing but a shrieking skeleton. Then he exploded, showering them all with blood. The three Searchers who were on his back went flying and landed well away from the remains. The others flew back as well, ending up on their backs.

"What the hell!" Suezo screamed in fury and fear.

Genki tried his best to steady Falcon, who had just struggled to his feet. Tiger rolled to his paws and assumed a fighting stance, shaking blood out of his fur.

"What's happened!" Falcon shouted.

"I don't know," answered Hare, "But we better get the hell out of here!"

Suddenly, the other dragon screamed as well. He began to levetate in the air...but he was not using his wings. He made a strange choking noise and clawed at his throat in agony. But then they heard a crack and a rip and his head tore off, hitting the ground with a hollow thump. The rest of the body followed.

"What's going on!" screamed Suezo.

"Let's get outta here!" Tiger shouted, grabbing Holly and running.

The others shot to their feet and followed him, moving as fast as their legs could carry them. Then they almost ran into Tiger, who had stopped dead among the tall swaying grass of the field. They followed his gaze, and froze. Standing around 15 feet in front of them was what appeared to be a dragon. But this was definately no ordinary dragon. It had the neck and head of a dragon, but it was small, only a little larger than most tall humans. It had reddish scales, and an what looked like an inverted black cross on its chest. Its clawed arm was extended and it was smiling malevolently at them.

"You can't leave yet, Tiger." it said softly. "We need to talk."

Tiger let Holly off his back and squared himself to the monster challengingly.

"Talk about what? Who the hell are you!"

Surprisingly, the monster answered.

"My name is Thunder. And I don't need to talk to you. I need to talk to YOU!"

Suddenly Hare and Genki both flew towards him, as if they had invisible strings attatched to them, and Thunder caught them. The others were caught completely off guard and thus could do nothing when the three of them suddenly levetated into the air. Genki felt the dragon-like monster's claws clenched tightly around his neck and he struggled mightily to breathe, hearing Hare doing the same. Thunder was immensely strong despite his gangly appearance and he smiled at them as they struggled, his teeth glistening in the light.

"You're trying to turn my general into a goodie." he hissed at them. "I don't like that."

He tightened his grip on their necks.

"Scimitar is mine." he said quietly, "He will _never_ become one of you. Remember that."

Tiger snarled up at them on the ground.

"Stand back!" he told the others.

Then he leaped at Thunder, his torpedo attack crackling around his horns. Thunder looked at him and almost casually fired a thin, red bolt out of his piercing green eyes. It hit Tiger square in the face. Tiger looked surpised for a fleeting moment but then he fell to the ground with a dull thud...and moved no more.

"TIGER!" everyone screamed.

"What did you do to him you sick bas-" Genki began.

Thunder suddenly tightened his grip so hard that he could not breathe at all and the dragon gave him the most evil look that he had ever seen. Then he leaned in and whispered in Genki's ear.

"If you or any one of your friends try and get to my general again, I'll kill everything in this world that any of you ever loved."

With that, he threw them at the ground as if they were something he loathed to touch. After hitting the ground hard, they looked up painfully, gasping in precious air, and saw that Thunder had vanished. The carnage he had caused however, still remained. Hare clutched at his neck for a moment where Thunder had touched him, but then he shook his head and seemed to return to normal. Tiger had still not stirred and Hare and Genki ran over to him in concern. Holly and the others were already there and they crowded around him in fear.

"He has a pulse, but he's not responding!" Holly said as her two friends rejoined her.

Grey Wolf looked frightened as Genki put his ear to Tiger's chest and listened for a heartbeat. He was slightly relieved when he heard one, but it was so rapid that it did nothing to assuage his fears.

"Come on Tiger, wake up!" he said loudly. "Don't do this to us!"

He shook the wolf-like monster hard but he still remained still. Grey Wolf then stepped up and smacked his brother across the face.

"Come on, brother!" he growled, "Wake up!"

Genki put his ear to Tiger's chest again, closing his eyes to concentrate, as Grey Wolf hit the blue wolf again and again. Then, suddenly, Tiger groaned and he opened his eyes slowly. Grey Wolf sighed with relief and backed off, but Genki didn't hear.

"Uhhh, Genki?" Holly said, with a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Quiet!" he barked.

"But Genki, he's...ummm..."

Genki ignored them, listening for his friend's heartbeat, until he heard a familiar voice.

"Kid? What are you doing?"

Genki's eyes shot open and he jerked his head back. He smiled in relief for a minute when he saw Tiger staring at him in confusion, but then blushed with embarassment.

"Tiger! I...uhhh..."

The others were laughing, partly out of relief, trying to forget Thunder's threat. Tiger smirked, rolling to his feet stiffly.

"Thanks for being concerned about me, kid." he laughed teasingly, "I love you too."

Genki blushed again and stood up.

"I'm...uhhh...glad you're okay, Tiger. We should...uhhh... continue on." he said, looking around almost suspiciously as if he expected Thunder to show up again.

Suddenly, Falcon laid a claw on his shoulder and he turned to the dragon.

"I won't be able to bring you to Mount Savage now Genki." he said sympathetically, "But I'll go back to the lair and get my dragons and meet you there.

Genki smiled and nodded in understanding. Falcon bid them farewell and then took to the sky again, fading quickly out of sight. They watched him until Suezo spoke up.

"Maybe we should head out, huh? I want to put as much distance between us and this place as possible."

They turned towards him and Holly nodded.

"Yeah, let's see if we can get to the Dark Forest before we have to stop for the night." she said and the others chorused a "Right!".

Once they set off, it took a surpisingly short period of time before they were at the borders of the Dark Forest. Tiger and Hare had bickered the whole time and Golem had had to break up a fight which delayed them a little while. Nevertheless, they had arrived, and as they looked at it, Grey Wolf voiced what they were all thinking.

"What the hell is this place?" he growled softly.

"This must be the place Falcon told us about." Genki answered. "But it looks..."

"Evil?" Suezo offered.

He was right. The Dark Forest was full of jagged, twisted trees whose shadows blocked all view of what lay inside it. It looked dreary, depressing, and like its name implied, dark.

"Welcome to hell." Hare said as they started past the treeline.

Holly scolded him lightly but they kept going until they were so exhausted that they had to stop. Golem ripped up a few of the trees and made a clearing for them to sleep in and they chose to sleep without a guard, falling asleep almost the minute they closed their eyes.

Thunder strode lightly through the trees. He moved as silently as the night itself and his glowing red eyes were all that was visible in the darkness of the forest. He stopped when he got to a clearing in the trees not far from where the rebels were sleeping. He remained still for a time, listening for something, and then the other burst through the trees. His eyes narrowed menacingly.

"Why don't you make more noise next time," he hissed, "Then the whole forest can be awake to hear what we say."

"Forgive me, master." the other answered. "I was careless."

"Yes, you do have that talent, don't you." spat the dragon.

Then he nodded back towards the sleeping rebels.

"Do they know?"

"No." said the other. "They're in the dark in more ways than one."

"Good." Thunder smiled. "I was worried you were going to disobey me for a while."

"Wouldn't dream of it." the other whispered.

"Go back and keep leading them towards the mountain." Thunder ordered, turning away.

"Yes, master." came the answer.

Thunder continued to the edge of the clearing but turned back just before he vanished.

"If you fail, don't come begging to me." he said softly. "You know how much I hate failure, Hare."


	14. Traitor

I'm back! Sorry about the long wait. I had college finals to study for, not to mention writer's block. I hope to have the next chapter finished sooner than it took to finish this one because I started it already. Remember, R & R! Thanks!

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When the group awoke the following morning, the woods were still as dark as when they had gone to bed and as a result, they found that they'd overslept. This irritated Tiger, who wanted to keep moving, but Holly insisted that they eat and he reluctantly gave in, stalking over to the food and sitting by his brother and Hare, who had prepared the food. Once they were finished, they continued north, towards the now dreaded Mount Savage. Genki looked around him as they walked, more out of curiosity than fear, but turned back to the path quickly. All the trees looked the same to him and it was slightly creepy.

"Hey Golem!" Suezo said loudly. "Can you see if this stupid forest ends anytime soon?"

"The forest keeps going." Golem answered.

"Oh." said Suezo, "Great."

'Of course it keeps going.' Genki thought. 'We haven't been in it for that long. And why has Hare been staring at me for the past 5 minutes!'

"You need something Hare?" he asked slightly irritated.

The rabbit started, as if he'd been daydreaming and snapped out of it.

"Huh?" he asked, "Oh sorry, Genki. I must have been staring off into space."

"Yeah...right..." Genki mumbled dismissively.

Holly turned back from her position at the front of the group.

"Stick close everyone," she called, "It's easy to get lost in here."

They heeded her warning and moved closer together. The trees growing at odd, twisted angles and they transfixed the rebels' attention. They all appeared edgy, and Tiger's eyes darted back and forth, as if he was expecting an attack from all sides. The group was obviously hoping that Golem had misjudged and that they would be out of the forest soon, but the farther in they went, the darker it got, until they had trouble seeing in front of them. Genki reached out in front of him, feeling his way around a tree.

"Boy, when they said this forest was dark, they weren't kidding around." he said irritated. "I can barely see anything."

"I don't like this," Grey Wolf growled. "We could be attacked and not be able to fight them off."

"Falcon said that we had to go through here to get to Mount Savage," Holly said. "So we don't have much of a choice, do we? Ow!"

"Sorry." came Hare's voice.

Grey Wolf growled again.

"Let's just get through here fast." he answered.

Suezo hopped a little faster as the group increased their speed a little. He grumbled to himself about the darkness. Despite having the best vision of the group, he was having trouble focusing in the dark and the faster pace only made moving harder. Suddenly, he tripped over a tree root and fell flat on his face.

"Great...just great." he grumbled, rolling back to his foot.

Then he continued on, hopping more carefully over the roots and rocks that were littered around them. He couldn't understand how the others were being so quiet, because he was ready to scream.

'Ah, well,' he thought. 'It's bound to get better soon. No place stays this dark for very long.'

The darkness continued however, and Suezo shook his head incredulously.

"Doesn't this place believe in light?" he asked sarcastically.

No one answered.

"Hey guys, are we gonna stop for a rest soon? This place would be perfect for a nap."

Silence.

"Guys?" he called, beginning to get nervous.

He stopped and concentrated, letting his vision focus. His friends were nowhere in sight.

"Damn it!" he hissed in fear. "They were right in front of me! Now how am I going to get out of here!"

He hopped a few feet forward.

"GUYS!" he called.

Still no answer came.

"Guys come on, wait up!" he yelled again.

"You shouldn't yell Suezo. Someone might hear you."

Suezo whirled and found himself staring at Hare. He sighed in relief, and then his eye narrowed.

"Yeah, Hare, that was kinda the point!" he snapped, and then sighed again. "But at least your here. Where are the others?"

"Ahead I guess." Hare answered. "I was following you, remember?"

"Great, so we-"

Suezo stopped.

"Wait. No you weren't. I heard you in front of me, up by Holly."

He saw Hare smile at him and he frowned, confused.

"What?" he asked.

"You must be hearing things Suezo." the rabbit teased.

There was something in his tone though that was weird, Suezo thought. Something almost...malicious.

"Hare...uh...where **exactly** are the others?"

Hare smirked and walked past him a few steps. Then he stopped with his back turned.

"They must be pretty far ahead by now, Suezo. Why don't you have a rest."

Suddenly, he whirled around with blinding speed and Suezo saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. Then he felt a stab of intense pain and all went black.

Hare stood over Suezo's motionless body, wiping the blood off of the knife he took from Holly with a smile on his face. Then he looked down at his comrade.

"Don't get up on my account, Suezo." he said softly.

Then he walked away.

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The group walked for over three hours before the light improved and they stopped for a rest. Genki rubbed at his eyes as he flopped down on the soft earth, trying to focus and improve his vision. When it did, he saw the others doing the same thing, only Golem's fists made a grinding noise as they moved over his face. He saw Tiger stretch and stand up as he looked around. Then he noticed that their number had grown smaller and he scanned the group in confusion.

"Where are Hare and Suezo?" he asked them.

The others immediately noticed that their friends were missing too and looked around in equal confusion.

"I don't know." Holly said concerned, "I thought they were behind you."

"So did I." Genki said, "But they're not here now."

"Maybe we should look for them." Grey Wolf ventured, "It's not safe in this forest alone."

Before any of them had a chance to agree, however, Hare burst through the trees, walking casually and wiping dirt off of his knees.

"I'm right here, guys." he said with an apologetic grin. "Sorry."

"Where were you Hare?" Tiger asked annoyed. "I thought Holly said to stick together. And where's Suezo?"

Hare looked behind him in confusion. Then he chuckled and ran a paw through his hair.

"He must still be back at the cave. Sorry about wandering off, but we found a cave and went to look for water."

"Did you find any?" Holly asked.

"Nah." the rabbit answered. "Suezo said he wanted to explore it a little more, though, so he should be back...whenever."

And with that, he flopped down on the ground next to Golem and Genki and stretched.

"He better be back soon," Tiger said with a growl. "Or we're leaving without him."

"Tiger!" Holly scolded and the blue wolf snorted and lay his head on his paws.

She shook her head and then shifted her position on the ground. Then she noticed that her dagger was gone. She felt around her in a panic but found nothing.

"Hare," she asked, "Do you or Suezo have my dagger?"

Hare glanced at her in confusion.

"Not that I know of, no." he answered.

"It's gone!" she said in dismay. "It's not here! It must have slipped out!"

"Maybe it slipped out during our walk." Genki suggested. "Hare, Tiger and I will go look for it."

"Oh really?" Tiger grunted, looking at him.

"Oh, come on Tiger!" Genki retorted.

"Yeah, come on Tiger." Hare added. "I thought you never turned down a challenge."

Tiger gave him a look that suggested that he wanted to hurt him badly, but then gave in and got to his feet and started back down along their path in disgust. Hare laughed and Genki shook his head and then they followed him.

"Thanks guys!" Holly called gratefully.

They were out of sight almost instantly and Holly turned back to the others. They talked for around 10 minutes uneventfully before Grey Wolf's ears perked up and he listened intently.

"What is it, Grey Wolf?" the girl asked.

Before he could answer, however, came through the trees. It was Suezo, and he was dragging himself by his tongue, a deep slash right across his eyeball dripping blood as he went.

"H-Holly..." he groaned before slumping to the ground.

"SUEZO!" Holly gasped and both she and Grey Wolf went over to him.

"Oh Suezo," she said, "Please be alright!"

The monster groaned again and rolled, opening his eye a little.

"Warn...you..." he gasped out.

"Warn us of what?" Grey Wolf growled, "What happened, Suezo? Who attacked you?"

Suezo didn't answer for a minute and tried to catch his breath. Then he spoke one word.

"...Hare..."

"WHAT?" they both gasped and Golem looked stunned as well.

"**Hare** attacked you?" Grey Wolf growled in shock. "Why?"

"I...don't know..." Suezo managed, "B-But he...he has...Holly's dagger..."

They looked at each other in fear, all thinking the same thing.

"TIGER AND GENKI!" they both said.

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Genki followed Tiger as he sniffed the ground and looked around in the dark. Hare trailed them, also scanning the earth for the lost dagger.

"Wow. This is harder than I thought it would be." Genki said.

"No kidding." Tiger grunted in irritation.

Genki shook his head and walked a little off the path, checking for glints in the limited light. He wasn't listening to his companions. Tiger snorted as he checked under a bush. He was really close to just throwing his paws up in defeat and stalking back to camp. It was Holly's most important possession, though, so he wasn't actually going to do it, but he wanted to. God he wanted to. He was sick of all these distractions. He wanted to get to Mount Savage now!

"Hey Tiger." Hare called.

"What?" the wolf asked, not in the mood to talk.

Suddenly, his senses went wild and he sensed danger. More out of instinct then anything else, he dodged to the side, but felt searing pain erupt across the back of his shoulder. He grunted in pain and whirled, on his guard completely. Hare stood before him, grinning and holding a dagger in one paw that was dripping blood. Holly's dagger.

"I found it." Hare said menacingly.

Tiger snarled at him.

"What the **hell** are you doing, Hare?"

"I thought it was obvious." the rabbit sneered. "I'm here to kill you. My master wants me to lead you to the mountain, but just imagine the reception I'll get when I walk in with your heads instead."

"Your master?" Tiger growled in confusion.

"Yeah. Master Thunder." Hare answered. "Now hold still."

Then he lunged with the knife and Tiger dodged again, his shoulder throbbing. Hare kicked dirt up in his face and slashed at him, but Tiger managed to dodge the knife just the same. Tiger snarled as they faced off again.

"You traitor!" he roared.

"You traitor!" Hare mimicked and then laughed. "Please. You have to switch sides to be a traitor. And therein lies your flawed logic, dear Tiger. I was never on yours!"

And with that, he faked with the knife and landed a hard punch to Tiger's jaw that sent the wolf sprawling. Tiger grunted at the impact, and then rolled out of the way as Hare brought the knife down right where he had lay. Then he fought back.

"Torpedo!" he shouted and the lightning flew at Hare.

Hare dodged out of the way and Tiger tried to smack him but he missed there too. He dodged another slash and then finally landed a blow when misjudged a punch. Tiger hit him across the face one, two, three times, and then Hare did a few back flips. The blue wolf grinned and lunged at him, thinking he was off guard. Then Hare looked up and smiled.

"Dragon Kick!" he screamed.

Tiger was completely unprepared and took the kick full in the chest. He flew back and hit a tree before coming to rest on his back. Then he groaned and looked up, and saw Hare in midair again, about to bring the dagger down into his face. He tried to move but couldn't, the move had stunned him. Suddenly, before he had time to react, a figure crashed out of the trees and kicked Hare into a tree hard. It was Genki.

"Tiger!" he called, "You okay?"

"Fine!" Tiger answered, regaining his feet. "I'm fine!"

Suddenly, Hare slashed at Genki and the young man dodged, then landed a kick to Hare's stomach that winded the rabbit. Tiger lunged and smacked his face and Hare staggered. Then the rabbit jumped over them, landing on his feet and punching Genki across the face hard. The young man fell back, then rolled when Hare tried to hit him again. Tiger took advantage of this distraction and lunged, claws outstretched. Hare turned to intercept him, but forgot about Genki on the ground behind him. Genki kicked him in the middle of the back and he tripped forward, right at the oncoming Tiger. When they crashed together, there was a sickening grunt of pain from Hare and then then rolled apart.

Genki looked at Tiger's horn and gasped. It was stained in blood. Hare lay on his back, breathing shallowly and clutching at his stomach, from which blood was flowing lightly. They looked at each other in relief, and Genki slumped back to the ground in exhaustion. Then they heard Hare groan.

"G-Guys...? Ohhhhhhh...what...where the hell...am I?" he moaned.

"Don't act like you don't know you traitor!" Tiger snapped, growling. "You tried to kill us! You probably killed Suezo!"

"Ohhhhhhhhh..." Hare moaned again. "My stomach... What are...you talking about Tiger?...I didn't try to kill...you..."

"Don't lie!" Tiger roared. "You know damn well what you did!"

Genki looked at Hare for a reaction and saw to his astonishment confusion and fear in his eyes. Hare looked like he'd just come out of a trance and Genki found that strange. Tiger growled again.

"Where's Suezo you worthless lump of fur?" he snarled.

Hare grimaced in pain.

"I-I-I don't...know..." he said.

"I'll kill you, you-!" Tiger began but Genki cut him off. He had just thought of something and looked at the rabbit intensely.

"Hare." he said sternly. "What's the last thing that you remember?"

Hare looked confused again, then winced in pain. Genki put pressure on the wound with his hands.

"We were...attacked by...Thunder..." he said slowly. "He...grabbed...you and me..."

"And?" the young man pressed.

"And...that's it..."

"That's it?" Tiger said incredulously. "THAT'S IT? You attacked us, Hare!"

"I...can't remember..." Hare answered. "I...can't...remember."

"You-"

"Tiger, I think he's telling the truth." Genki said, cutting him off again.

Tiger looked stunned. He pulled Genki to the side.

"Kid, he just tried to kill us! How can you believe him!"

"Remember what happened when Thunder attacked us?" Genki pressed. "When he grabbed Hare and me?"

"Yeah, he grabbed you, hissed something at you, and then shot me with something." Tiger answered. "I saw him shock you and throw you to the ground before I passed out."

"But...he didn't shock me." Genki said.

Tiger looked confused.

"I saw him do it." the wolf said insistently. "Look, what does this have to do with anything, Genki?"

"Were you looking at Hare right before you passed out?" Genki said, ignoring him.

"Yeah, so?"

"So you saw Hare get shocked by Thunder. So Thunder must've-"

"-hit Hare with a submission attack and controlled him." Tiger finished in dismay, feeling guilty that he'd jumped to a conclusion.

Genki nodded and ran back to Hare, who was on the ground, still holding his stomach to stop the bleeding. The wound was surprisingly shallow, and Genki put pressure back on it. Tiger came up behind him.

"Hare..." he said, "I'm...uh...sorry."

Hare laughed slightly, then grimaced.

"You don't...have to...apologize...Tiger." he said, "If I were you...I'd have...done...the same thing..."

"How are we gonna move him?" Genki asked.

Before Tiger could answer, all the others burst through the trees, Grey Wolf in the lead. The silver lupine scanned the scene with his blue eyes and then growled at Hare on the ground.

"I see you've already discovered our problem." he said fiercely.

"Grey, wait." Tiger said, stepping in between them. "He was being controlled by Thunder. Genki and I already broke his influence."

The rest of the group stopped, confused. They looked at Hare and back at their two friends and saw that they were telling the truth. Hare coughed and looked over at them.

"Suezo..." he said painfully, "I...I'm so sorry..."

Suezo stared at him for a minute, his eye bandaged by Holly, who had gone and was tending to Hare's wounds. Then he turned and hopped away without saying a word. The others looked at each other in concern and then Golem picked up Hare delicately.

"It'll heal." Holly said, putting the roll of gauze back in her pocket. "Just give it a few days and you'll be well enough to fight again."

"Good." Hare said weakly. "Thanks Holly."

She smiled at him and then the group turned and went after Suezo. A few hours later, they saw light through the trees ahead of them and moved a little faster. When they got there and broke through the tree line, they sighed in relief. Golem had been wrong. They were out of the Dark Forest!

"We're out!" Suezo cheered.

"Thank god." Tiger mumbled and Genki smirked at him.

"Well," Grey Wolf said, walking forward. "At least that's over. We should keep moving though."

"I agree." Holly said. "Come my friends! We head for Mount Savage!"

"RIGHT!" the shouted simultaneously.

Then they continued forward, their spirits considerably higher. Genki looked over and saw that Hare was looking glum, however and frowned.

"What's the matter, Hare?" he asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah..." the rabbit answered. "Just feeling guilty I guess."

"You should." Suezo said nastily.

They ignored him.

"Don't be Hare." Holly said, "It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah." Genki added, "Keep your spirits up Hare. We're all alive, right? Besides, it can't get much worse than that place, right?"


	15. Naga's Return

This chapter is an information chapter of sorts. It's explaining part of the back-story and isn't that exciting. I've already started the next one though, and it'll be better. This one needed to be written though. Also, if you find this one confusing, I'll try and explain it in coming chapters, so don't worry! As always, R & R (thanks to those who have!), and I don't own Monster Rancher or any of its characters. Scimitar and Thunder are mine though. I'll try and get the next one up soon too. Enjoy!

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Over the next few days, the group found themselves traveling through relatively easy terrain, consisting mostly of rolling hills outlined with areas that were rocky and not quite as smooth. The hills seemed to lead in an almost straight path towards Mount Savage, which was still a long way off, so they weren't complaining. Hare had recovered remarkably fast and had resumed walking with the group instead of being carried by Golem. He didn't talk about the brief time that he was Thunder's pawn, and neither really did the others. Suezo still had not totally forgiven him for almost killing him and he still bore the cut left by Holly's dagger, which he now looked at nervously instead of impassively like before. The two did not talk as much now as they had before, and Holly spent her time while they were traveling trying to remedy the situation, but had not yet succeeded.

They had seen nor heard anything of Scimitar or Thunder, who they assumed would've been very angry at their ability to free Hare from his control. Genki in particular had been almost sure that the evil dragon would've made his presence known again the day they left the Dark Forest behind, but that had not been the case. He remembered how angry Thunder had been before, when he'd grabbed Hare and him, and the look of cold viciousness that he'd seen in his face. The dragon scared him almost more than Scimitar did, and he could tell that the others shared his feelings. None of them were eager to see him again, but they were worried about what he was doing. On the second day after the Dark Forest vanished from sight behind them, they came over the top of a hill and looked down upon some kind of valley. Genki frowned at it.

"This looks way too pretty to be out here in the middle of nowhere." he said, scanning it with his eyes slowly.

"I thought this looked familiar." Hare said, snapping his fingers. "This is Sareth Valley. It was the sight of a battle during the Final War where a lot of monsters and humans were killed."

"So why aren't there any settlements around here?" Holly asked. "It looks like the perfect place for one."

"Because a lot of people think it's cursed." Tiger answered solemnly. "The bodies of the dead monsters and humans were supposedly buried right where they fell, so this place is seen as being kind of like a graveyard."

Genki shook his head.

"How do we keep running into these kinds of places?"

"I don't know, kid." the blue wolf said, eyeing him. "But I'll tell you this: we won't get a decent night's sleep here."

"I don't think we have a choice." Holly said. "It doesn't look like there's anything for miles ahead, and by the time we get anywhere, it'll be dark."

"And we are **not** traveling at night." Suezo said, thinking back to the Dark Forest.

"I agree." Golem said. "The baddies may attack during the night if we're on the road."

Hare sighed and picked up his pack from where he'd put it down.

"Alright." he said uneasily. "But keep your eyes out though. This place isn't as pretty as it looks."

With that, they started forward down the hillside into the valley, looking around for anything out of the ordinary. As they entered the valley, they all began to feel more and more uneasy. The place was dead silent, not even the wind disturbed its tranquility. It had very few trees and a short, lightly swaying grass, covered most of the ground. It seemed almost like a pit, surrounded by hills on all sides, except for a narrow path at the other side that just led back to the hills leading towards Mount Savage, or so they assumed. It was, however, not small, and when they reached level ground at the bottom they found that it was in fact much larger than they'd thought. Tiger shook his head, on guard.

"I don't like this." he said. "This is too open."

"Neither do I." Holly agreed, "But at least it's deserted for now."

"Oh I wouldn't say it's deserted." came a voice from ahead of them.

They stopped, ready for anything, and then a figure slithered out from the shadows. It was Naga. Tiger and Grey Wolf immediately growled and Holly and Genki pulled their swords but Naga raised his arms in surrender.

"I haven't come to fight." he hissed softly. "I wanted to talk to you all."

"Like you talked to us last time?" Hare asked. "No thanks!"

Naga sighed.

"I know you think I'm bad, but you've got to understand. I had to attack you then. Thunder was watching me and I couldn't alert him that I was a goodie."

"Why should we believe you now?" Suezo asked piercingly.

"Because I can give you information." the serpent answered. "Information you'll probably want to hear."

The group looked at each other. Then Tiger spoke up.

"I think he's telling the truth. I sense no hostility."

Genki sheathed his sword.

"This doesn't mean that I trust you." he said scathingly.

"Of course not." Naga said in return. "Come. Let's get to safer ground."

They followed him reluctantly until they were a little more than halfway across the valley. They stopped at a spot with two trees and a hill from which you could view every direction. It was not safe, but it was safer than the other spots. Then they sat down. The light was beginning to fade, so Golem broke some branches off the trees and they started a fire. They sat in a circle around it and Naga sat off by himself a little. Genki looked at him.

"All right, Naga." he said. "What's this about?"

"Up to this point," Naga answered, "You've been fighting the baddies, but you haven't known much about them. I just came from Dakoron, an abandoned city east of here."

"Dakoron!" Grey Wolf gasped, "The site of the final battle between Moo and the Phoenix?"

"The same." Naga nodded. "The city may be abandoned, but its main computers still work somehow. I wanted to find out about our enemy and I looked there for answers. And...I found them."

"What answers?" Holly asked. "We only know a little bit about Scimitar."

"And you don't even know the whole story about him." Naga said, looking at her. "But I can tell you most of it. What the computers told me anyway."

The group settled in, listening intently. Naga waited for them to be ready and then began.

"What you probably know about Scimitar is true. He was a goodie general that vanished during the waning moments of the Final War. No one knew what happened to him or his companions, Kovu and Sabre."

"Yeah." Hare said thoughtfully, "They fled into the dark and no one else saw them."

"Actually," Naga said. "That's not entirely true."

"What?" Tiger asked intensely.

"There's a log in the city's main computer made by a doctor who apparently worked there." Naga continued. "He somehow survived the explosion at the end of the final battle and dragged himself back to the computers. His entry said that he'd seen Scimitar and his friends and that he was about to go to them when they were attacked."

"Attacked?" Genki asked. "By who?"

Naga looked at him.

"A black scaled dragon-hybrid." he said. "The doctor said that their attacker killed Kovu and Sabre and then shot Scimitar with something right before the explosion shockwave reached them. Then they vanished into thin air."

"Thunder." Suezo whispered.

"And it gets worse." Naga said, staring into the fire. "When I continued looking, I found a file on Thunder. Apparently, he too was a goodie once."

"What!" the group gasped.

"That's impossible!" Genki exclaimed. "I looked into his eyes and saw...felt...nothing but evil. There's no way he was on our side once."

"Oh but he was." Naga said intensely. "In fact, he was once the goodies' ultimate weapon."

The group looked stunned. Naga saw this and explained.

"Thunder apparently was a precursor to the Phoenix." he said. "He was created by humans to be an ultimate weapon against the baddies. But... something went wrong. When he came to life, he didn't do what they thought he would. In their rush to make him powerful, his creators forgot to give him a soul, a heart. He immediately killed all his creators and wreaked havoc on the city. He's part of the reason why the Phoenix was created. They didn't want to get it wrong a second time."

"And he took control of Scimitar..." Genki said slowly, finally understanding.

"Yes," Naga said. "In Scimitar, he had a servant who was both stubborn and powerful, powerful enough to destroy pretty much everyone but him."

"Sounds like someone else I know." Genki muttered, glancing at Tiger of the Wind.

Tiger smirked and hit him playfully, but Holly then asked the question on all their minds.

"Naga," she said, "Did the computers say of any weakness either of them have?"

Naga shook his head.

"That even I don't know." he said dejectedly. "In fact, you probably know more than me."

The group groaned in disappointment. Naga looked nervously at them, the first time he'd ever shown fear.

"The computers did say something about the Savage Sword, though, something that scares me."

"What?" Grey Wolf asked, looking his fellow former Big Bad 4 member in the eye.

"It said that not much is known about the Sword itself, only that it has almost unlimited power. The other thing that was said about it was...was that, when threatened, it had the power to connect to its enemy."

Hare frowned.

"'Connect' to its enemy? What does that mean?"

"It means that, as a defense mechanism, the Savage Sword can intertwine its fate with that of its enemy's. If it attaches to someone, and then gets destroyed, the person or monster it was connected to will die as well."

The group fell silent. They looked at each other nervously.

"That sword has to be destroyed, Naga." Hare said quietly. "If you're a goodie you know that."

"I know." Naga nodded solemnly.

"Then how do we know if it has connected itself to someone?" Tiger growled.

"I guess you don't." Naga shrugged. "Unfortunately, the city's computers wouldn't say any more about it. But I know that the Sword is neutral. It could connect to a goodie or a baddie, if it even does at all."

Genki rested his hand on his chin.

"We should worry about just getting there for now. We'll worry about its supposed powers later."

"Agreed." Grey Wolf nodded.

"That would be smart." Naga said, hissing. "Besides, you've got other problems. I heard some villagers talking a ways back. Seems Scimitar and Thunder are wreaking havoc on towns and villages all over the place. A lot of humans and monsters are really angry. Some are even talking of forming an attack force to try and fight them."

"They'll get themselves slaughtered!" Genki exclaimed. "They stand no chance!"

"I know." Naga answered, "And that's exactly what Thunder and Scimitar want them to do. Some of them are trying to plan though, instead of just rushing headfirst into their deaths. They're putting a lot of faith in you seven."

"Us?" Suezo exclaimed. "Great. More pressure."

Genki grinned and shook his head and so did Hare. Naga was not done though.

"Thunder isn't going to kill them," he said slowly. "He's going to turn them into his servants. Then they'll be just as much your enemy as any other baddie."

Holly sighed and they glanced at her.

"We'll do what we have to to destroy the Savage Sword." she said. "Maybe we'll find a way to save them."

Nobody answered her and they sat in silence for a minute. Then Naga addressed them a final time.

"Well," he hissed, "I've said what I needed to. I'm going to go back to wandering to find us some help. I bid you good luck."

"Thank you, Naga." Holly answered for the group, "Good luck to you too."

The serpent nodded a final time at them and then left, vanishing over the hill of the valley moments later. Then the group waited for Holly to cook their dinner and stayed where they were until night came.


	16. Symbiont

Sorry for the long disappearance. I had college work to worry about. I hope you like the chapter because it ties in to the end of the story. Please R&R and thanks for being patient with me! Also, sorry about the story cuts towards the end of the chapter, they were necessary.

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Holly lay down on the swaying grass of Sareth Valley with her friends by her side. She felt slightly nervous at having to sleep in what was basically a graveyard, but she was so tired that she didn't let it bother her overly much. She heard Suezo snoring next to her and she cast an irritated glance at him but found that she could not be angry. Not with everything that had been going on. Thunder and Scimitar were terrorizing the area, Naga was apparently good again, and the Savage Sword was closer than it had ever been. She rested her head on the ground and closed her eyes warily, half expecting to hear the voices of the dead coming up to her from beneath the earth. She quickly put the thought out of her mind and fell into a light sleep, her friends' presence near her comforting in a way. It seemed that she had not been asleep for very long when she heard something. She tried to look around and listen, but everything was black and for some reason the world did not seem quite as real as it usually did.

'Wait!' she thought, realizing, 'I must be dreaming!'

This made sense to her and she relaxed considerably, thinking that the sound must have been something unimportant. But then she heard it again.

"Holly..."

She whirled, startled, but there was no one there.

'A voice?' she thought. 'From where? From who?'

Nothing happened for a minute and she thought that she must have been dreaming of her past.

"Holly..."

'There it is again!' she thought to herself.

"Who are you!" she called into the jet-black. "Who's there!"

She couldn't see a thing and was beginning to become disoriented, so she did not move. She listened instead.

"Is anyone there?" she asked the dark.

"I'm here." came a response, a voice that seemed to echo from every side.

"Where!" she called, hand clutching her dagger cautiously.

"Here." came the voice, this time whispering in her ear.

She screamed, whirling around. When she looked, she found herself face to face with a mutant. The figure standing before her was taller than her and had the body of a human. The head, however, belonged to a tiger, and the figure also contained that breed's tail as well. An outline of a sword was burned into the figure's chest and its pupil less eyes focused unblinkingly on hers.

"Who are you?" she asked, masking her shock.

The creature spoke with a voice that seemed demonic, like it contained hundreds of voices all meshed into one.

"I am the Savage Sword." it said slowly. "I've taken this form so that I may communicate with you."

"Th-The Savage Sword!" she sputtered, "B-But that's impossible!"

"Impossible?" the creature asked scathingly. "Do you not see me with your own eyes?"

"I-I see-"

"A form that it not my own." it finished. "But here I am."

It looked her directly in the eye.

"You come to destroy me." it said almost gently, but with a hint of menace. "I can't allow that."

"You're too powerful!" she countered. "You can't be allowed to help the baddies!"

"I do what I have to to survive." the creature said. "Isn't that the way of all things?"

"No!" she answered, "Some of us would gladly die for our friends, our family."

"Would you like to die?" it asked calmly.

Holly stopped, at a loss for words. The creature smiled knowingly.

"That's what I thought." it said. "I can't let you destroy me when you don't even understand me."

"I understand enough!" Holly said angrily.

The creature reached out a hand.

"Connect with me, and you will understand." it said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"NO!" Holly screamed, pulling out her dagger. "You stay away from me!"

The creature's hand dropped, but its smile remained.

"It's your choice." it smiled. "But there others I could take besides you. Others who are more tempted by power. Others who have no choice."

It laughed and Holly felt a chill go down her spine. The creature nodded at her and turned away. Before it had totally faded into the darkness, however, it turned back and looked at her, it's pupil less eyes still shining brightly.

"Remember, Holly," it said. "If you try and destroy something you don't understand, you'll get nothing but pain in the end."

Then it walked away, leaving her alone in the darkness of her dream.

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When she awoke, everyone else was already up and ready. She sat up and stretched and saw Genki turn towards her.

"Hey, you're awake!" he said, "We were starting to wonder if something was wrong."

She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair.

"No." she said hesitantly, clutching at the magic stone as if to see if it was still there. "I had the strangest dream..."

"What about?" Suezo asked from where he stood helping Hare pack the limited food they had left.

She started to answer, then shook her head, looking down guiltily.

"Nothing." she said, "I can't remember most of it. I don't think I even understood it."

"Oh, too bad." the eyeball monster replied.

"Come and eat Holly." Tiger said insistently. "Hare made that stew you like. I think it's safe to eat."

Hare gave him a nasty look and she giggled. Then she came over and sat down and they all ate. They all seemed in good spirits despite yesterday's encounter with Naga, and Genki and Hare were talking about monster battles while the others cut in with their own observations and opinions. Holly certainly remembered the dream, but didn't want to tell them about it for some reason. Maybe she didn't want them hovering over her like she wasn't capable of protecting herself. That's what she thought anyway. She snapped out of her reverie in time to see the others packing up everything and getting ready to depart.

"Come on Holly." Genki said. "We've got a long way to go yet."

"Coming!" she called and ran after them, catching up almost instantly.

They took the narrow path on the other side of Sareth Valley and sure enough, it led straight back to the rolling line of hills leading them towards Mount Savage. They had not gone more than 2 or 3 miles, however, when Tiger stopped. He stood stock-still and growled.

"What is it, Tiger?" Genki asked tensely.

"Company." he answered, eyes looking around fiercely.

The young man unsheathed his sword and the others got in battle stances. Nothing happened. They moved forward cautiously and waited. Still nothing happened and they all looked at Tiger confused.

"You still sense danger?" Genki asked.

"Yes!" Tiger insisted.

Nothing moved but the wind and the clouds in the clear blue sky.

"Oh yeah." Hare said, sarcastically. "It's **really** dangerous out here!"

Tiger whirled, growling.

"Go on!" he snapped. "Say one more word, Hare! Watch what I'll do to you!"

"Bow down?" the rabbit suggested and Genki and Golem had to grab Tiger to stop him from jumping on him.

Holly shook her head as Hare laughed and she sighed. Then she felt a nudge at her side and she turned, expecting to see Grey Wolf. Instead she looked into a pair of familiar icy blue eyes. It was Scimitar, and he was not alone. He also looked very angry.

"Boo." he said, smiling unpleasantly.

She screamed and pulled out her knife, jumping back into Suezo to avoid a possible attack. The others whirled, Tiger snarling and Genki readying his sword.

"Scimitar." he growled, "And just when my day was looking good."

The Warrior of Fire was flanked by what seemed like a small army of subordinate troops, all of them looking ready for a fight. Tiger seemed eager to give it to them but Genki wanted to try and talk his way out of this one.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"You know what I want." Scimitar answered. "And if you don't tell me, I can get **really** nasty."

"I told you the truth, you stubborn bastard!" Genki snapped, his temper flaring unexpectedly. "You're just choosing not to believe me!"

Scimitar looked angrier. He growled back at them.

"Don't get angry, Scimitar." Genki tried hopelessly, realizing his mistake. "I'm trying to help you."

"Rebel, you've never seen me angry." came the response, delivered in the coldest voice Genki had ever heard.

Tiger growled back at him.

"Don't get in our way, Scimitar!" he threatened. "Don't push me!"

"I am going to get the truth from you, rebel leader, if I have to choke the life out of every last one of your little friends to get it!" Scimitar hissed, giving Genki a death glare.

Genki was unfazed. He looked the evil tiger directly in the eye.

"What's it gonna take, Scimitar?" he asked. "For you to believe me. What do I have to do?"

Scimitar was speechless for a minute, as if he hadn't been expecting this question and didn't even know what he wanted himself. Then he shook his head violently and glared at Genki with intense dislike. He motioned with his head towards a clump of trees roughly half a mile distant.

"Come with me to those trees distant," he said slowly, his voice dripping with malice. "Just you. We'll talk."

Genki hesitated. The prospect of talking alone to the Warrior of Fire did not sound appealing to him, but he sheathed his sword anyway. One of Scimitar's troops, another tiger, looked at his commander in disbelief.

"B-But sir!" he sputtered angrily. "Weren't we supposed to obliterate them!"

Scimitar stopped dead in his tracks. Without looking at him, he said:

"Was that question directed at my orders, Echo?"

Echo looked terrified. He glared at both the rebels and Scimitar.

"No, sir." he mumbled. "No."

"Good." came the answer.

Tiger came up to Genki.

"Kid, this isn't a good idea." he said softly, growling.

"I know." Genki answered. "But I'd rather avoid a fight with him if I can."

"Be careful."

"I will." Genki said, then whispered. "And Tiger, please try not to provoke his troops. Maybe I can get us out of this."

The wolf-like monster nodded gravely and Genki took a deep breath and followed Scimitar's already departing form. Tiger motioned for the others to move back away from Scimitar's troops a little and then they sat down and waited.

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Genki arrived right behind Scimitar at the clump of trees and the Dark Warrior sat down in front of him. They were just out of the line of sight of the others. The black furred lupine looked at him for a moment like he wanted to just kill him right here and right now, but then seemed to calm down, relaxing somewhat and settling in. Genki swallowed the lump in his throat and faced him, sitting as well. He looked at the ground.

"Why did we come here?" he asked.

"I want you to tell me again." Scimitar answered slowly but purposefully. "Who was I?"

Genki shifted his position.

"Thunder said he'd kill me if I did." he replied slyly.

"Fuck Thunder!" Scimitar snapped, then calmed down somewhat, taking a deep breath. "Tell me."

Genki hesitated again for a minute, but then sighed.

"Back during the Final War," he said slowly, clearly. "You were the leader of the goodies. Before the big explosion happened because of Moo and the Phoenix, you were taken control of by a being called Thunder. He killed your two friends Kovu and Sabre and you became a baddie, his general."

Then he stopped and looked at Scimitar for a reaction, fully expecting the evil tiger to snap at him or attack him or something. Instead, Scimitar just sat there for a while, staring straight at him and not moving a muscle. Genki found it thoroughly creepy, but stared right back at him, not daring to move. After a while, Scimitar stood up stiffly and turned back towards where his troops and Genki's friends waited.

"Come." he said in an almost robotic voice.

Genki stood and walked side by side with him back to the others, watching him warily the whole time. The Warrior of Fire did not look once at him, and their respective companions came into view a short time later. The two groups had been growling at each other, but stopped the minute the two came into view and stood up. Genki walked back to his friends, who looked relieved to see him alive, but kept his eyes on Scimitar, who stalked to the front of his army and turned and looked at him. He looked at Genki again, his eyes so piercing that it seemed like they should have been able to cut the young man's skin just by themselves. Echo panted excitedly by Scimitar's side.

"Well, sir?" he asked, looking directly at Tiger, who glared back.

"Should we kill them?"

Scimitar looked like he was in a trance and all his troops focused their attention on him in anticipation.

"Move out." he said suddenly.

"What!" Echo exclaimed angrily. "B-But sir, we can't just let them-"

Scimitar's head rotated on his neck like a gun turret and the look he gave Echo frightened him into silence as well as the others standing around him who'd agreed with him. Then, growling, they all moved out, vanishing over a hill. Scimitar looked at the rebels one more time before he left.

"This doesn't mean I won't kill you." he rasped at them. "Remember that."

Then, looking more like an angry zombie than ever before, he turned and walked away, leaving the rebels speechless and confused.

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"Geez, Genki, what did you tell him!" Suezo asked irritated once they were underway again. "I nearly fainted where I stood!"

"That's not something I would go around bragging about Suezo." Hare said, trying to lighten the mood and failing.

He turned to Genki.

"He has a point though," he said. "His reaction was really strange. How did he take it right after you told him? Assuming he asked you the same thing as last time of course."

"He acted pretty much the same as you saw there." Genki answered. "It was weird. Creepy even."

"Did he say anything to you?" Grey Wolf asked.

"No." Genki said after a pause. "I'm almost glad he didn't though."

"He seems very lonely." Golem said from the back of the group and they all turned to look at him.

"He's not lonely," Tiger growled vehemently. "He's just out of his mind. We shouldn't start feeling sorry for him. That'll give him an advantage."

The group decided not to answer this and they walked in silence for a little while. They kept going between the hills and mountains, grass turning to rock beneath their feet, and after 4 hours of continuous walking, they began to see the outline of a huge mountain in the distance.

"Mount Savage..." Grey Wolf said solemnly.

They couldn't see much of it from where they were, but it was definitely tall, and it loomed ominously in the distance just out of reach. It vanished when they went behind a hill and reappeared when they rounded it. It did not, however, reappear alone. A huge swamp covered the ground in front of them and it stretched for at least a couple miles in all directions. There were groans from every member of the group.

"How the hell did no one see that?" Suezo complained. "It'll take us days to cross this!"

"So asks the group lookout." Tiger snorted, though he silently agreed.

Suezo gave him a nasty look and Genki stepped in between them.

"Well," Holly sighed dejectedly, "We're just gonna have to try and go around it."

Suezo started to complain again but a look from Tiger silenced him as Golem stayed behind the group.

"Water hurts rock." he rumbled, "Not nice.

"Don't worry Golem," Hare said cheerfully. "Nothing's gonna happen to you."

Grey Wolf was sniffing over by the edge of the water and he looked up when he found nothing. The ground turned to swampland surprisingly fast and the ground by the water was the same hard rock they'd been walking on for the past couple hours.

"We should go this way," he said, gesturing left with his head. "The ground looks sturdier over HERE!"

Suddenly, the ground beneath him gave way and he fell, letting out a yelp as a hole appeared in the ground where he once had stood.

"GREY WOLF!" the group yelled and gathered fearfully around the gaping, jagged hole.

In their concern, however, they did not think and when they gathered around where their friend had fallen, the rest of the ground crumbled and they all fell after him, limbs flailing everywhere. Holly felt herself hit some kind of rock face and begin sliding instead of falling, her back scraping against the hard stone. Then the rock face ended and they were falling again, but not for long. She felt herself slam into the ground with a dull, hollow thud, and she groaned as her friends all landed near her. When she looked up, she saw that they had fallen into some kind of underground cavern, one that was quite large and contained a great many tunnels leading out in all directions. Grey Wolf was forcing himself to his feet groaning just a couple feet in front of them and Holly looked at him in concern.

"Grey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." he grumbled, in a voice that would've made his brother proud.

"What about you?" came a voice and she looked up to see Genki looking at her.

"I'm alright." she answered, dusting herself off and letting him help her up.

She let out a little scream as she tripped but he caught her in his arms and their eyes met as she righted herself again. She blushed and he smiled.

"Thanks." she said.

He nodded, grinning stupidly (or so he thought).

"Where are we?" Suezo asked. "First swamps, now underground labyrinths?"

"I don't know this place." Hare answered when they all looked to him. "Then again, I didn't know what that swamp was either."

"Neither do I." Tiger added.

"Well, what are we gonna do now?" the eyeball monster said. "Maybe we should follow one of these tunnels."

"That sounds like a plan." Genki agreed.

"Now let me see," Hare started. "We fell from that way so-"

But Holly was already using the magic stone, and it pointed them towards the now unseeable mountain.

"That way." she said confidently.

"Good." Tiger said with a satisfied smile. "Let's take that big tunnel right down the middle."

"Right!" they answered and the group started off again.

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Scimitar sat back in the shadows of his new lair, which was a ways west of his encounter with the rebels. It was once again in a large cave, only this one was cold instead of hot. This did not bother him, because he would not be staying here long. His pack sat scattered around the cave, talking and growling quietly to each other, occasionally looking over at him. He stared at the wall, looking at it like it was the answer to all his questions, all his problems. He breathed slowly and rhythmically, like a machine, feeling the draft from the cave opening blow his black and red fur.

"A goodie..." he whispered to the dark. "A goodie...a...goodie..."

Someone was lying, he decided. But who was it? Thunder or the rebels? Someone was lying. Someone was lying to him. Lying...

"I don't like this." Echo whispered in disgust to a small group of his packmates in the opposite end of the cave from Scimitar. "A pack leader should be powerful, ruthless, and merciless! Scimitar's getting weak!"

"Yes!" another tiger agreed. "He showed mercy to the rebels. We must kill him!"

"Are you mad!" a third growled angrily. "He'll eat us alive! We'd stand no chance!"

"Haven't you been listening, whelp!" Echo snapped under his breath. "He's weak! He's not the same! If we swarm him, he'll go down easy!"

The rest of the pack joined them.

"When we kill him," Echo continued excitedly. "We'll eat his worthless corpse and then I'll be leader!"

"You?" the second tiger answered. "Why you?"

"Because I'm the strongest here, that's why! You wanna make something of it!"

"Let's just do this." the third tiger said, relenting.

Then they grouped together and walked towards Scimitar.

Scimitar made up his mind. They're all lying. All of them. Somehow, everyone had been lying to him this whole time. Even Thunder. He gritted his teeth angrily and his nostrils flared fire.

'I'll kill them.' he thought viciously. 'I'll kill them all. Everyone. Everyone. _Everyone..._'

"Scimitar you pathetic excuse for a baddie!" came a voice from behind him.

He turned slowly and saw his entire pack standing behind him, blood lust in their eyes. In the front was Echo. He smiled growling.

"You let the rebels go." he hissed. "If you're too weak to kill those that Thunder tells you to, then I say it's time for a new leader!"

The rest of the pack cheered him.

"**I'm** the new leader!" he said excitedly. "And for our new pack's first order of business: you must die!"

Scimitar stared back at him through hollow, dead eyes. An insidious grin spread across him muzzle and he stood, facing them.

"Everyone." he whispered. "Everyone..."

"That's right." Echo laughed. "Everyone here agrees with me. You've got no more pack! And now you'll have no more life!"

And with that, he lunged at Scimitar, who made no effort to move. Suddenly, at the last second, the Dark Warrior sidestepped with lightning quick reflexes and shot his paw at Echo's face. A sickening squish was heard and Echo shrieked in pain. The rest of the pack saw Scimitar standing there with his claws buried deep into Echo's eyes. The other tiger screamed and twitched, blood running down his face until he slumped to the ground and Scimitar pulled his claws out. Then he faced his pack, who were suddenly looking unsure of themselves. The second tiger shook his head.

"Come on!" he yelled. "Swarm him!"

When they all ran forwards, Scimitar growled.

"HELLRAISER!" he snarled.

Just like with Genki, flames shot out of the earth and the startled tigers' coats immediately caught fire. Scimitar turned and walked towards the entrance, hearing the gurgling shrieks of his former subordinates as they burned to death. When all noise stopped, he stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"I hate traitors." he said softly.

Then he walked away.

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The tunnel had been much longer than they had originally thought and they were all beginning to get irritable again. Tiger walked off ahead of the group by himself, while the others were scattered around behind him, all looking thoroughly bored and silently wondering when the cave would end and they could breathe fresh air again. Golem had had to duck at a few points to avoid hitting his head on stalactites jutting from the ceiling. Genki helped Holly around some rough terrain and then suddenly they came to a wall. It was almost completely flat and at the top, some 150 feet up, the path split into three again.

"Great." Genki muttered.

"I could run up there no problem." Tiger said almost smugly.

"Sure you could." Hare retorted. "But then there's that little problem of us being down here."

Tiger growled at him and Hare growled back. Suddenly Suezo shook his head.

"That's it!" he shouted. "I'm sick of this! TELEPORT!"

Then, just as suddenly, they were at the top. They all looked around in surprise.

"Hey, what do ya know?" Hare laughed, "Suezo actually got that to work!"

"Yeah, only one problem," came a slightly distant voice from the left. "We're all in different tunnels!"

It was Grey Wolf and he was right. They had all appeared in different tunnels, with Holly, Suezo and Golem in the middle one, Grey Wolf, Tiger, and Hare in the left one, and Genki alone in the right one.

"Hey, I tried!" Suezo said in response.

"Look, let's all go down the tunnels." Holly said loudly. "I think they meet further down."

"They better." came Tiger's voice. "If I'm stuck with Hare for very long alone, I may have to kill myself."

"That's not a bad idea." Hare responded and they all heard sounds of fighting.

"Let's GO guys!" Holly said irritably and they all started off.

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The Savage Sword brooded in the darkness of its realm. It knew they were getting closer. It couldn't allow this to continue any longer.

'It is time….'

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Genki continued at a brisk pace down his tunnel, eager to get the group reunited before they got lost or Tiger and Hare killed each other, whichever came first. He got turned around for a moment, but then found his path again.

"There it is." he said aloud to himself as he saw the end of tunnel distant.

As he started towards it, in another tunnel, Holly was walking next to Suezo and Golem when they saw the end of their tunnel.

"I see it!" Suezo said.

"Let's go!' Golem answered.

And with that, they started to jog towards it.

'I warned you…'

Holly stopped short.

"Huh?" she asked, her head whipping around in confusion.

"Something wrong Holly?" Suezo asked.

"No." she answered after a pause. "Nothing."

In the other tunnel, Genki began to jog himself seeing light where the tunnels met.

"Almost there." he said.

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Scimitar had had no trouble gathering a small following. He looked down at them from his perch on top of a large rock jutting out of the rock face near them and saw just a bunch of ragtag outcasts, much like the Wild Bunch had been or the rebels themselves. The only difference was that these creatures were expendable. If he was going to do what needed to be done, he would need a lot more than what he had, and maybe even need a general. But the monsters below him had no idea that their trusted leader didn't care whatsoever if they lived or died. All they knew was that society had done them wrong, and now the world would pay for it. Scimitar walked into the trees that hid them from the prying eyes of the outside and looked out at the city of Dakoron, the city that was just eating what would be their last supper.

'They won't be so peaceful when they see what the night brings them.' he thought. 'They won't be so happy.'

Revenge would taste so sweet when he got when he could take it. Dakoron was a warm-up, a test to see if his new small force was ready. He saw children playing in the grass below and smiled. They had no idea that their lives were about to come to an end. Their existence snuffed out like a… Suddenly he felt an intense pain in his underside.

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Genki was halfway down the hallway when suddenly he felt a throbbing pain in his chest. He trotted to a stop and clutched at it in confusion.

'I wasn't running **that** fast.' he thought.

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The pain got worse and Scimitar turned to retreat back to his troops but as soon as he moved, something seemed to explode in his chest and a vicious stab of pain knocked him right off his feet. He fell to the earth and growled in agony.

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A stab of pain so nasty that it had knocked Genki onto his back had hit him so fast that thought he'd been attacked at first. Genki yelled in agony and began twitching on the ground as his chest felt like it was being carved into with a knife.

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Scimitar screamed as he writhed on the forest floor. The pain had gotten so bad that he thought he might pass out. What a warrior he would be then! Then suddenly, just as quickly as it had come, it stopped. He hissed in pain and panted as he tried to regain his feet when he did, he looked around in anger and confusion, looking for an attacker. Then, something caught his eye and he looked down at his chest.

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Genki lay on his back, groaning lightly and panting as he tried to stop his head from spinning. The intense pain had just stopped and he had seen no evidence of an attacker. He pushed himself to his feet painfully and tore off his shirt, looking for a wound.

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Scimitar of the Fire and Genki Sakura, in different parts of the world, looked down at their chests simultaneously, and felt fear rush into them. Fear and confusion. For Scimitar had heard the legends, and Genki remembered what Naga had said. They felt their heads spinning and went to meet with their respective companions. And far from being confused, they both knew exactly what had happened to them. The faint outline of a sword burned into each of their bodies had told them the answer.


	17. Secrets

**Here's the new chapter! Hope you like it, as I'm already starting work on the next one.**

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By the time the group met up at the point where the tunnels intersected, Genki had regained his composure somewhat, but was still shaken from what had happened. He was determined not to tell the others because he knew that they would worry and then finding the sword would temporarily take second precedent. That was something Genki did not want. Hare had a black eye when he reappeared with Grey Wolf and Tiger and was glaring daggers at the blue wolf, who was grinning and looking pleased with himself as his brother shook his head and rolled his eyes. It only took them around 5 more minutes to find the exit to the cavern, which was revealed after Golem punched through a rock blocking their way. Once they exited, they realized that they were on the other side of the swamp.

"Wow, it's lucky you found that, Grey Wolf!" Suezo exclaimed.

"Yeah? Tell that to my back." the wolf-monster grumbled.

Genki snickered in spite of himself and followed Hare, who was leading the way with Tiger. Mount Savage appeared no closer and they made their new heading straight for it, moving more quickly than they had been before. They had just put the swamp out of view when a thought struck Genki that he hadn't thought of before.

"Tiger?"

"Mmm?"

"How exactly do we destroy the Savage Sword?"

Tiger looked caught off guard by the question and for a moment didn't answer. When he did, he looked uncomfortable.

"I'm not sure, kid." He said, glancing back at him. "I was hoping that we would figure it out along the way."

Genki nodded but then he remembered back to the first conversation that he and Tiger had had back in the hotel after the wolf-like monster had been reunited with them.

"You were the one who told me about it, Tiger." Genki pressed him. "How did you find out about it?"

Tiger looked annoyed, but his face suggested that he had been expecting the question for a long time. He growled slightly, and then sighed.

"Because someone told me." He answered bluntly.

"Who?" Genki asked interested.

Tiger suddenly looked stricken and looked away. He stopped on the path and the others looked at him concerned.

"Tiger?" Holly asked, "Are you alright?"

He lifted his head a little but remained facing away from them. Then he growled and tilted his head at the group.

"Kid, there's something I didn't tell you that night in the hotel." He said guiltily.

Genki had sensed that Tiger had been hiding something from the day they re-met and he stepped forward a little.

"Who told you about the Savage Sword, Tiger?" he repeated.

Tiger turned and looked him right in the eye intensely.

"Thunder." He responded.

Genki felt all the warmth and relief at escaping the cave leave him and he went cold. Hare looked stunned and Holly looked like she must have heard him wrong.

"What?!" Genki said a little more violently than he meant and Hare walked up next to him.

Tiger looked away again.

"About a month before I met you on the road that night, Genki, I was attacked by my pack's old canyon where we all first met." He said intensely. "The baddies captured me instead of killing me and took me to a floating castle that looked a lot like Moo's old one. The baddie leader they took me to was an ugly dragon hybrid named Thunder. He told me about the Savage Sword and how powerful it was… then in the same breath he told me that my brother would die horribly if I didn't do something for him."

"Which was what?" Hare said sharply and Tiger only glared at him for an instant, looking very ashamed.

"Betray you." He said softly.

Grey Wolf looked like he didn't know who Tiger was anymore and Genki found that he couldn't even speak. Tiger had always been one of the most loyal, honest friends he'd ever known. The thought of Tiger betraying them sickened him and he turned away with a moan of disgust. Tiger ran and jumped in front of him. He growled.

"I told Thunder that nothing he could threaten me with could make me betray you!" he said fiercely. "I managed to escape when he left to deal with one of his baddies, and I knew I had to destroy that sword before he got his claws on it!"

"Why?"

"Because I saw how powerful he was, Genki." Tiger answered. "If he finds that sword, we won't be able to stop him! And if we don't stop him, he'll destroy everything we have."

Genki sighed and stared at him. Tiger stared right back and looked at the rest of the group for support. Finally Genki nodded, giving the wolf an unsure look.

"I believe you." He said and Tiger looked visibly relieved.

Then the blue-wolf looked at the others.

"Look, guys," he said, "I'm sorry I – "

Suddenly, there was an explosion and Tiger went flying backwards, landing in a heap with a grunt of pain. The group whirled in shock as a figure emerged from behind a rock to their left. It laughed as Tiger rose to his feet growling and the others turned towards it, their faces enraged.

"Sorry is he?" the figure smirked sarcastically, "Well I must admit, that's certainly a new side to the great Tiger of the Wind isn't it?"

The figure was obviously a Joker, though not the one they'd run into in a cave miles away and years ago. This new one had a white mask with orange accents that made him look even more like an evil clown then the other. He tossed a large scythe in the air and casually caught it with his other hand as the group focused on his sudden arrival.

"Who are you?!" Tiger snarled, angry at the insult.

"Well that all depends on whether you cooperate or not." The monster drawled nastily.

"Whatever it is, you can forget it!" Genki snapped at him. "We're not cooperating with you or your master.

Suddenly they heard more laughter from behind them, this time female. They whirled towards it and a pixie flew from behind another rock. She was very beautiful but obviously evil, her shoulder-length black hair not able to hide her baddie symbol. She smiled poisonously at them.

"I was hoping you would say that." She said.

Then she pointed an arm at them and two small balls shot out of her hand. They hit the ground at the group's feet and exploded, sending them flying backwards to land in a tangle amongst each other. Tiger, however, was spared and lunged at her with a snarl, Grey Wolf right behind, having recovered first. She dodged their assault and leapt backwards out of reach. Tiger landed and glared at her.

"Get down here and fight!" he growled.

"Why should I?" she answered with a smile, "We've already won."

He was about to return a confused retort when he heard screams behind him. The brothers whirled and saw their friends encased in some sort of round forcefield, trying mightily to break it but to no avail. Above them the Joker laughed.

"That was too easy!" he grinned at them. "I thought you knew better then to turn your back on an opponent, Tiger. Maybe you're not as strong as your reputation after all."

"No!" Tiger shouted and lunged at him, but the Joker swung his scythe and hit the blue-wolf back to the ground with a grunt, leaving him staring at his friends in horror.

Genki shouted soundlessly at him through the forcefield and the Joker noticed and shocked all five of them. Tiger and Grey Wolf watched as their mouths screamed and they collapsed to the ground in the forcefield, hearing no noise from within despite seeing it.

"Let them go you-" Grey Wolf started.

"You what?" the Joker cut him off. "This is your fault they're going to die, not mine. So you can hate me all you want, but it won't change a thing. My name is Vengeance, and all I am, is gone."

Then he cut the air with his scythe and they all vanished. The pixie laughed from behind them.

"Bye-bye." She cooed sarcastically and took off laughing, vanishing into the distance moments later, leaving Tiger and Grey Wolf to scream after her in frustration and fury.

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"Rrraauugggghh!" Tiger snarled at the sky, looking at where the pixie had departed. "You cowards!!"

Grey Wolf looked at him from his position behind him.

"What now?" he asked.

Tiger calmed down somewhat, but his face was still furious.

"We go after them." He said, growling.

"How?" Grey Wolf asked skeptically. "Jokers leave no scent. They're nothing but despicable cowards."

"But she did." Tiger answered, nodding his head towards where the pixie had gone. "We'll follow her scent and she'll lead us right back to Vengeance and the others."

"Tiger, she flew west, away from Mount Savage." Grey Wolf responded, walking up next to him. "If we go after them, Thunder could get to the sword before we do."

Tiger looked like he had been thinking exactly that, but his face betrayed fear as well, something Grey Wolf wasn't used to seeing in him, and the younger monster realized that his brother cared about them more than he probably wanted to admit. Tiger looked at him.

"I won't leave them to die with him, Grey." he said, "Besides, we won't be able to destroy the sword alone so we need to chance that Thunder won't get there first."

Grey Wolf only paused a moment, then nodded.

"Come on!" Tiger shouted and then took off West after the pixie, Grey Wolf right with him.

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Genki let out a grunt of pain as he hit the cold stone floor. Vengeance had purposely made the forcefield vanish as close to the cell ceiling as he could so they would fall, and because of Golem's size, that was quite high. When he pushed himself to his feet, he looked up and saw the Joker floating just behind the cell bars and chuckling to himself at their predicament. Genki glared at him and started forward towards the bars.

"You won't get away with this you-" he started, grabbing the bars forcefully and looking Vengeance directly in the eyes.

Suddenly, he felt a huge shock throughout his whole body and he jerked his hands away with a yelp of pain.

"Careful," Vengeance said, smiling sadistically, "Those bars are electrified. We wouldn't want you getting hurt now would we?"

Genki clenched his fists and straightened himself up, feeling Hare come up beside him. Vengeance turned away from them and floated up to a throne-like chair in the center of the cave they were in. It was smaller than Scimitar's lair had been, but much better protected, as the evil tiger had never had much thought to protecting anyone but himself.

"After all," the joker continued, "Master Thunder is just **dying** to see you. He'd be really disappointed if I turned you in dead before he could… talk to you first."

Genki looked around the cell and saw that the walls were made of thick concrete. Golem, who had just gotten to his feet, reared back immediately and, with a yell, punched the wall hard. Then he pulled back, shaking his stone hand in pain, and they all saw that the wall had not been affected.

"Great." Suezo exclaimed, "What do we do now?"

Genki and Hare turned at the same time to look at him.

"We wait for Tiger and Grey Wolf to find us, that's what." Genki said testily.

"In the meantime, though, we should look for any way out of here on our own." Hare added, leaning cross-armed against the wall.

"Gee, Hare, I'm glad you're around to tell me these things I never would've thought of myself!" Suezo said sarcastically. "Thank you!"

"Knock it off!!" the rabbit responded angrily and they growled at each other.

"You're certainly a dysfunctional bunch aren't you?" teased a female voice and they saw a pixie fly up to their cell.

Hare and Suezo scowled at her and she laughed and floated over to Vengeance, who was examining some kind of control panel.

"I assume you lost the other two, Avarice?" he said without looking up.

"Of course," she cooed, wrapping her arms around his neck. "They'll be wandering in circles for days."

"Good." He smiled evilly.

"Don't think that our friends won't find you!" Genki shouted though the bars at them. "And you're gonna be begging for mercy when we're done with you!"

Vengeance laughed with his back turned.

"Oh, I know they'll get here eventually." He said and Genki had the distinct feeling that his voice had changed.

Then the joker turned around and Genki went numb. It wasn't only his voice that had changed. It was his appearance. The group now stared at a handsome 17 year old with wavy brown hair, one who looked strikingly like him. In fact, he looked exactly like him. Vengeance laughed.

"It's just a question of what they'll find when they do." He finished, grinning.

The group looked at Genki in shock as he stared back at himself, totally at a loss for words. Holly recovered first.

"How did you- How can-" she stuttered.

"Master Thunder gave his top generals the power to shift their form indiscriminately." Vengeance responded. "It takes a lot of power to do it, but I'll risk it. Just think of the look on dear Tiger's face when one of his best friends stabs him in the back… literally."

He laughed and Avarice joined in, leaving the group to gape at him in revulsion, totally unable to do anything about it.

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Grey Wolf growled in frustration. They had traveled for over 3 hours nonstop before finally losing the pixie's scent in a hilly area pockmarked by small cliffs and switchbacks. The treacherous terrain made it slow travel, but the two had been making good time until the baddie had finally lost them for good by flying higher and overlapping her own trail.

"Rrrrrr…" Tiger growled. "She knew we would follow her scent so she led us in circles!"

"We must have missed a trail." Grey Wolf answered, sniffing around by a rocky outcropping they were standing by.

"We didn't." Tiger said bitterly.

Grey Wolf raised his head and listened to the wind blowing around them, straining himself to hear anything from the landscape, a scream, a laugh…anything. But all he heard was the wind itself, and nothing else. He sighed raggedly, still breathing heavily from running nonstop.

"What else can we do?" he asked, "If there's no scent to follow, Tiger, then- "

"I won't give up on them, Grey." The blue wolf answered. "I don't care if it takes me a month, I'm gonna find them!"

"Tiger…" the younger monster said quietly. "If we don't get to the Savage Sword before Thunder does, it won't matter if they live or die."

Tiger growled loudly in anger and frustration.

"I know…" he said. "I know…"

Then he closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could on the whirling wind, much like Grey Wolf had done, but with even greater determination. He vaguely heard his brother saying something about leaving for Mount Savage soon if they found nothing and tuned him out.

_'Where are you?' _he thought. _'Where did he take you? Please… I can't leave you behind…'_

Then, as if he'd had a premonition, he sensed that they were in a cave. This area would be perfect for hiding a lair, like Scimitar had done, he reasoned. His eyes shot open a second later and he resumed running very suddenly, hearing Grey Wolf struggle to catch up for a moment before finally succeeding.

"Tiger!" he called, "Do you know where they are?"

"Not really, Grey." He answered determinedly. "But I trust my senses."

His brother nodded and followed him as they ran and Tiger remembered when Genki had asked him the same question during the Black Worm attack of their Phoenix quest. He hoped silently that the young man and his other friends were all right, and the thought of them pushed him to keep moving despite the protest of his strained muscles. They ran well into the night and Tiger was just about to give up until tomorrow, hearing his brother's exhausted panting and feeling his own endurance waning, when they stumbled across a series of shallow, intersecting canyons.

They were not desert canyons, like the one he'd lived in with his pack, but rather were covered with grass and rocks that made them practically invisible from a long distance. He was going to suggest that they rest in one for the night when he caught a scent. The pixie! Tiger couldn't believe his luck and Grey Wolf apparently shared the sentiment, wearing the same look of relieved triumph that he was. Forgetting about their fatigue, they followed the scent through the maze of canyons and rock faces before finally stopping at a cliff face that was larger and steeper than most of the rest. Tiger looked down over the edge and saw an opening in the stone at the bottom and before he knew how he did it, he was down there too, staring at it. Grey Wolf sniffed the ground.

"This is definitely where she went." He growled and Tiger nodded.

"Let's go." He said darkly and they stalked forwards into the opening, both on high alert for attackers.

Stepping inside, they found that at a cursory glance, it could've been mistaken for an ordinary cave. But the deeper they went, the more it became apparent that they had found the place they'd been searching for. Tiger growled lightly as they came across a door in the rock a few hundred feet into the cave. Forgoing stealth, he shot a Lightning attack at the door and it blew into a million pieces. Then they walked through. Grey Wolf grunted as he looked down at the body of a guard who had apparently been behind the door when Tiger had destroyed it. The body wore the baddie symbol.

"This is it." The grey-furred monster growled, all his senses going into high alert.

They stood at the end of a hallway that disappeared around a corner a few hundred feet in front of them. The walls were no longer the jagged, rough rock of the outer part of the cave, but now were grooved, almost smooth flat walls that were very similar to those of Moo's floating castle from ages ago. Tiger looked intensely into the dim light, an almost inaudible growl escaping his lips. When he sprinted quickly down the hallway a moment later, Grey Wolf followed, sticking right with him. The hallways split into two when they rounded the corner and Tiger stopped, looking both ways with his piercing gaze repeatedly.

"Grey," he said. "You take left, I'll go right. Let's go!"

The other tiger nodded and leapt off down his fork, vanishing around a corner seconds later. Tiger then turned to his own path and did the same, determination set into his face.

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Grey Wolf slowed down when doors began popping up in the walls of his hallway, and he glanced carefully into each one, growling in frustration when he found nothing, not even a trace of his friends. When he continued on, he suddenly came to a large cavern-like room that was significantly more massive than any of the others. In the middle sat a large throne-like chair and the monster growled, his senses telling him that something was wrong. He looked around and then his eyes came to rest on what looked like a prison cell set into the wall to his right. Behind the bars, he saw Holly and just out of sight, Hare. He bounded over to the bars with a relieved smile, but before he could ask anything or see if they were all there, he saw Holly's frightened face and felt an immense pain in the back of his head. Then he knew no more.

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The thoughts Tiger had in his mind were not pleasant. He ran down connecting hallways in Vengeance's lair that just didn't seem to lead him any closer to his friends and he was getting worried about them.

'_If that bastard joker hurts them, I swear to god I'll- ' _he thought.

Suddenly, his hallway ended and Tiger skidded to a halt, grunting in surprise. Seeing a door on the left, he barreled through it and found himself in a dimly lit large room. The wolf-like monster felt a very uneasy feeling rush through him and he growled menacingly, looking around severely. Then he caught a scent and all his muscles froze up. He recognized it immediately. _Genki!_ Sniffing intently, he ran in the direction of the scent until he entered another equally sized room, but this one was better lit than its predecessor. Then Tiger froze. In the middle of the room, lying on his stomach and covered in blood, was Genki.

"Kid!" Tiger shouted and was over to him in only a few bounds.

He nudged Genki over onto his back and saw that the young man had been beaten pretty badly. He clothes were tattered and torn and he had fresh slashes down his face and chest, though they were not serious. Sniffing him, Tiger realized that he was alive and nudged his cheek lightly with his head. His human friend groaned and put his hand on his forehead. Then he opened his eyes, blinking in pain.

"Tiger?" he groaned and the monster sighed in relief.

"Genki, are you okay?" he asked intently and the boy nodded, shaking his head slightly.

"Blasted Vengeance." He growled, pushing himself to his knees. "Messed up my leg. Other than that I'm fine."

He paused.

"How'd you find us so fast?"

"Determination and skill." Tiger answered with a slight smile, "Now climb on, we need to get the others and get out of here."

Genki nodded and eased himself onto his friend's back, Tiger shifting his weight as he did.

"Where are the others Genki?" Tiger asked.

"In a big room in the center of the lair." The young man answered, grimacing a little. "We should hurry. I don't know where Vengeance went."

Tiger nodded and then bounded off back the way he'd come, ricocheting off the walls and moving like lightning down the hallway his brother had taken only minutes before.

"Go left." Genki said from Tiger's back and the wolf-like monster blew through a door… and found himself in a large empty room.

"Huh?" Tiger growled, "Genki, what's- "

Suddenly, he felt a piercing pain in his shoulder and he yelled in pain. Then someone grabbed his horns and wrenched his head up. He found himself nose to nose with Genki, who was smiling malevolently.

"Got ya." The young man said before jumping off of Tiger's back and kicking him to the floor, pulling the small knife he'd hidden out of his back.

Tiger growled, grimacing in pain.

"Genki…" he groaned in confusion. "What- "

The young rebel kicked him in the face and Tiger felt one of his teeth get knocked loose. He rolled quickly to his feet and stared at his friend, growling.

"What are you doing?!" he snarled.

"Something I should've done a long time ago." Came the reply and Genki leapt at him, swinging the knife.

Tiger dodged and felt the blade whistle past his head. Then he shot a weak lightning attack at the boy, not wanting to hurt him badly. Genki rolled out of the way and then came at Tiger with a surprising speed, tackling him to the ground. Then he grabbed the monster's neck and pinned him, and began punching him as hard as he could in the muzzle.

"How's it feel, Tiger?" Genki hissed at him. "For one of your own to betray you? I hope it hurts before you die."

Tiger kicked out all his legs in a panic and Genki flew off him, landing on his back on the floor. Not knowing what to do, Tiger turned and ran out the door, feeling humiliated for retreating but not wanting to hurt his friend. He heard Genki's voice drifting after him, sounding strangely hoarse.

"You think you can run, you miserable piece of garbage?! You can't get away from me!"

Tiger turned a corner and found himself in a huge cavern-like room. It had a large throne-like chair in the middle of it… and was totally filled with baddies. Tiger skidded to a halt in shock and growled, realizing that he was surrounded. A familiar pixie smiled evilly at him from their ranks and Tiger's gaze turned murderous.

"Tiger!"

He turned and saw Holly, Hare, and Grey Wolf looking out from behind the bars of what looked like a cell to his right. Before he could say anything however, his senses went wild.

"Look out!" Holly screamed and he dodged to the left just as Genki brought the blade down right where his head had been seconds ago.

Then the young man turned and winked at him and all the baddies in the room were on Tiger before he could react. He was hit by attacks from all sides and felt multiple slashes and blows as he fell to the floor, all the while hearing Avarice's sadistic laughter somewhere above him. Tiger growled in pain, thinking of his friends and the Savage Sword and that seemed to bring strength to him somehow. He roared deafeningly and leapt above the baddie hoard.

"TORPEDO!!" he screamed and the group went flying, blood spattering on the floor.

When he landed, they were on him again, but this time he was ready. Tiger slashed left and right, firing attacks randomly and repeatedly and hitting every time. He gored a dino that tried to bite him and then hit a group of gels with a Lightning attack moments later. Then he was delivered a swift kick to the jaw and flew into a wall. When he looked up, he saw Genki about to bring the knife down again and dodged. Instead of running this time, though, Tiger tackled him and they became a fighting mass of teeth and fists. Genki put Tiger in a chokehold and pulled, but the monster bit his arm and threw him hard into the wall. Tiger watched him roll to his feet and they circled, snarling at each other.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Genki?!" he growled loudly.

Genki grinned, spitting blood.

"What's wrong?" he snapped. "Here's what's wrong!"

Then, before they could go at it again, Tiger saw Genki change right in front of him, from his friend to a familiar joker now scowling angrily at the wolf-like monster.

"Vengeance!" Tiger snarled.

The joker growled back, his eyes blazing.

"That DOES IT!" he yelled. "I am through playing with YOU!!"

Then he shot beams out of his mask's eyes and Tiger yelled in pain as one hit him, the other going past his head by inches. He raked at his face in pain and Vengeance hit him with his scythe, sharp side slashing up his side and sending blood flying through the air. Tiger let out a loud grunt as he landed, panting in pain and Vengeance brought the blunt side of the scythe down on his head, making stars flash before Tiger's eyes. He looked up to see the baddie hovering over him.

"The great Tiger of the Wind?" he hissed coldly. "You're pathetic."

Then he raised the sharp side of the scythe and Tiger knew he couldn't dodge in time. But suddenly, a blade punched through the front of Vengeance's mask and he let out a horrible shriek of pain. Tiger looked up and saw the real Genki, his face murderous, standing behind the joker with a dagger thrust out in front of him through the back of Vengeance's head. For a second, everything seemed to freeze, and then the baddie fell over dead, not even letting out a sound as he crumbled. But something above him did.

"Killer!!"

Tiger saw Avarice dive at Genki and he knocked the young man aside just as she was going for his throat with her claws.

"TORPEDO!!" he yelled and the pixie seemed to explode in midair, the attack leaving virtually nothing behind of what she had been.

Tiger saw the others finishing off the remaining baddies, Grey Wolf and Hare double-teaming a group that had attacked Holly, and then he and Genki looked at each other wearily, the human betraying a ghost of a grin that Tiger returned. Then Genki winced and clutched at his chest and Tiger frowned, looking concerned. Before he could ask anything, though, the others surrounded him.

"What took you so long?" Suezo asked, though he didn't sound accusatory.

"Are you guys alright?" Tiger asked and they each nodded in turn.

"Tiger, you've been hit." Holly said, running a finger over the wound in his shoulder where the knife had stabbed him.

"It's not bad." Tiger said, though he silently swore at the intense pain it caused. "We should leave though, before his reinforcements arrive."

Grey Wolf nodded in agreement.

"We tried to warn you about Vengeance when you came in the room." He said to his brother. "Avarice knocked me out when I found the cell."

Tiger nodded as well and motioned that they forget about it for the moment, looking wary and anxious to leave. The rest of them took the hint and they all left quickly, following Tiger and Grey Wolf back to the exit. When they emerged, it was still dark, but having been in a cave, their vision adjusted almost immediately. Tiger only had the strength to travel a few miles before they stopped and set up to sleep for the night, none of them awake enough to volunteer for first watch. Holly bandaged up Tiger's wounds as Hare set up a fire and the others slowly drifted off to sleep, after checking on their friend's condition. Eventually, Holly and Hare fell asleep as well, Holly near Suezo and Hare on Tiger's left. As Tiger lay down, Genki came and sat next to him.

"Listen, Tiger." He said slowly. "Whatever Vengeance did in my form. I want… I want you to know…"

Tiger stopped him and nodded.

"We're okay, kid." He growled quietly. "It wasn't you. Besides, you saved me again."

Genki grinned.

"And you returned the favor." He said. "Again."

Tiger smirked at him and suddenly Genki groaned loudly and clutched his chest again, almost doubling over in pain. Tiger shot to his paws.

"Kid! Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Genki straightened himself up quickly, not able to hide the grimace on his face.

"Y-Yeah." He mumbled. "Vengeance hit me in the stomach before you arrived, that's all."

Tiger growled lightly at him.

"Genki, I know you well enough to know when you're lying." He said, looking him in the eye. "Now tell me. What's wrong?"

Genki stared off into the dark, closing his eyes a moment later.

"Tiger, trust me." He said wearily. "I'm fi- "

But then his pain came back and Tiger had to catch him to stop him falling. The young man panted in agony and Tiger turned his head with a paw so their gazes met.

"Genki." He growled softly. "Please. You're in pain. Tell me why."

Genki started to shake his head, but Tiger glared at him.

"Please." The wolf-like monster repeated.

Genki looked at him almost pleadingly, and then glanced away. He looked for a moment like he would've rather been anywhere else in the world but there, but relented, letting out a deep, ragged sigh. Then he reached down and took off his shirt, grimacing more as he threw it lightly aside. Even in the dim light, Tiger could see what Genki had been clutching at and he took a step back in shock. Burned into his friend's chest was what looked like the outline of a sword, a vicious looking sword that could only be one in the entire world. They stared at each other for a moment, neither making a sound. Then Genki broke the silence.

"It doesn't have me." He said, though he sounded like he was convincing himself more than Tiger. "I'm not a monster."

He'd meant no offense and Tiger realized that, taking a step forward and averting his gaze from the burn on Genki's chest.

"K-Kid…" he said softly in shock. "How long has this been there?"

"Since the underground caves by the swamp." The human answered, equally as quiet. "I didn't want you guys to know…"

"Why?"

Genki had no answer to that and looked so ashamed that Tiger wondered helplessly how to comfort him. The young man recovered slightly and looked away as Tiger stared at his silhouette in the dim light.

"We should…get some sleep Tiger." He said slowly. "We both need the rest."

Tiger watched as he lay down and then looked around at his other friends and saw that none of them had heard the exchange. He felt a conflicting desire to tell Holly and the others about Genki's plight, but felt an even stronger sense of honor and friendship in keeping his revelation between the two of them. Without another word, he lay down near his brother and Holly and glanced over at Genki to see if he was all right before closing his eyes, silently worried about him.

"It doesn't have me…" Genki said softly and Tiger felt his hackles rise as a chill went through him.

For a moment before he shook his head and they both drifted off to sleep, he could have sworn that Genki's voice had been different, deeper and more malevolent.


	18. Venom

Wow. It's been a LONG time since I posted anything and I apologize for that. The reason is a combination of college work and bad writer's block. Thanks to those who pushed me into hurrying up. The next chapter is already being written and I promise not to take as long to post that one as I did this one. R & R! Thanks!

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"What the hell?!" Suezo shouted and Genki's eyes shot open.

The ground underneath them had shaken violently and it happened again just as he was getting up, knocking him onto his back. He looked and saw Tiger and Grey Wolf already on their feet and Holly being helped to hers by Golem.

"What's going on?" she yelled and was nearly drowned out by a loud explosion from very nearby.

"There's a battle going on!" Hare responded from the top of a hill to their left. "We need to move! NOW!!"

At that provocation, Genki scrambled to his feet and ran up to Hare, Tiger and Grey Wolf right on his heels. When he looked over the crest, he stopped in mixed awe and shock. A battle was indeed raging, and it appeared to be a violent one. A cloud of dust hung over the spectacle like it was creating more dramatic conditions on purpose, and monsters of all kinds slashed and attacked each other with no reluctance or mercy. Suddenly, a group of monsters saw them and breaking off from the battle, ran at them with shocking speed. Tiger snarled and leapt at them with a roar as Hare and Grey Wolf flanked him. Genki turned to Holly, drawing his sword.

"Holly," he shouted, "Get back! Golem, protect her!"

Then he turned back to see Tiger and Hare fighting multiple opponents at once, while Grey Wolf had disappeared into the fray. He was about to leap in as well when he looked to the top of a high hill further to his left and saw a figure standing on it. Recognizing it even through the haze, he froze. He watched as Scimitar stalked calmly down the hill, looking quite angry and vicious, but almost oblivious to the carnage around him and vanished into the mass of writhing, snarling forms. Suddenly, a set of claws slashed past his face and Genki was snapped out of his reverie. Dodging fast, he swung his sword and kicked his attacker down, then slashed in another direction and was blocked. He parried with the Zuum and its lance for a second, then grabbed it by the arm and drove his free fist hard into its elbow. An audible crack was heard and the Zuum screamed loudly, but another attacker distracted Genki and he lashed out again in yet another direction. Then he heard a series of explosions to his immediate right and, looking over, saw Tiger fire a final Torpedo attack at a group of katos, sending them flying in all directions. When a dino tried to bite him from behind, he leapt up and, grabbing its throat in his teeth, ripped it out violently, sending a spray of blood flying over all nearby.

"DRAGON PUNCH!"

Another group went flying and Genki leapt towards where he'd heard Hare's shout and found him seconds later.

"Hare, this is crazy!" he screamed, dodging an attack from the side. "This could go on for hours!"

Hare uppercut a tiger that lunged at him and then glanced at his friend.

"I know!" he yelled. "But these guys are right between us and Mount Savage! Besides…"

He kicked a Kudo troop hard, then jumped back like a kick boxer.

"…if these guys are fighting our allies, then we can't just abandon them!"

Genki shook his head and punched a Monol and then another dino that was behind it.

"We all need to get out of here!" he responded. "I saw Scimitar over there!"

He gestured with his hand and flipped another Kudo over his shoulder when it attacked him. Then he felt something behind him and saw Tiger in a battle stance.

"Scimitar's here?!" he snarled.

"Yeah!" Genki responded and they double-teamed an attacking group.

Suddenly, they heard a loud shouting and all looked around.

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!!" someone was screaming and monsters all around them began running back towards where Holly and the others were.

"We gotta go!" Hare said and Tiger snarled.

"That's away from Mount Savage!" he growled.

"That's also where Holly and Golem are!" Genki shouted at him and ran after the fleeing monsters, his companions right on his heels.

As they crested the hill again, Genki saw Golem move himself protectively over Holly to shield her from the throng of monsters and humans that were rushing past them. There were so many of them that the huge rock monster didn't see the baddies that were charging them as well. Genki ran as fast as his legs could carry him and Tiger rushed past him even faster, but Grey Wolf beat them both to it, body-checking the baddies and sending them all sprawling. Tiger then finished the job, leaping into the air and bellowing "TORPEDO!", killing all of them in an explosion of smoke and dust. When he landed in perfect form, he glanced over at Holly and the others, panting slightly.

"Holly!" he growled, "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine!" She responded over the noise.

"Good!" he shouted, "Then we should get goi- "

"No!" Holly responded before Genki could. "Let's follow these monsters! They might need our help!"

"Huh?!" Tiger grunted questioningly. "Holly, we need to get to Mount Savage before Thunder does!"

"Let's follow them for now!" Hare said in response. "We need to get away from these baddies!"

Genki was about to agree when he saw Scimitar emerge from a group of baddies on the crest of the hill and appear at the front of them, glaring down at him. Genki felt his fists clench and he fixed the baddie with a furious stare. He was about to turn away and follow the others when he caught a glimpse of something on Scimitar's chest that he didn't remember having been there before. Looking closer, he felt a chill go through him. The evil tiger had obviously tried to cover it up with some sort of black fur dye, but Genki saw the faint outline of a sword despite the distance between them. His hand went to his own chest involuntarily and he stared in stunned shock. Suddenly, Scimitar looked right at him and he jerked his hand away from his chest, but it was too late. A similar look of shock and realization passed over Scimitar's face, but he hid it much better than Genki had, his paw moving partway to his chest before he put it down and resumed giving orders to his subordinates. Genki met his gaze for a second before he heard shouting behind him and snapped back to reality.

"GENKI! COME ON!!" Suezo shouted. "Do you want to get killed?!"

Genki turned and ran, his long strides helping him catch up with his friends even though they had a sizable lead on him already. They heard the baddies staying right behind them and ran faster, but not before Genki was tripped from behind. He fell painfully on his face, and heard a roar as a baddie came at him from above. Then he felt a rush and heard a grunt of pain as the baddie flew backwards away from him. He felt teeth on his shirt and got a glimpse of Grey Wolf as the monster yanked him to his feet.

"Come on!!" he growled loudly and Genki followed.

Convinced the baddies would still follow, they ran even faster, Tiger leading the way, and only realized that they were alone when Suezo tripped as well and looking back, saw that they had lost them. They came to a halt by the remnants of the group that had been fighting the baddies. It seemed to be an amalgamation of different monsters and humans and they noticed it was quite large the closer they looked at it. Genki scanned them with his eyes and was surprised when some of the group came up to them readily.

"It's really you!" one of the monsters, a Zuum said. "I wasn't sure before but now… It's an honor, all of you!"

The others looked just as confused as Genki was. He frowned slightly, but it was Holly who spoke.

"I'm sorry." She said almost apologetically, "But do we know you?"

A young man standing next to the Zuum shook his head.

"No but we certainly know you!" he said, smiling at them.

Holly and Genki both gasped as they looked at him.

"Alan!" Holly exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

The young man nodded at them as Suezo came over to greet him as well.

"Fighting the baddies." he answered enthusiastically. "What's it look like?"

"I thought you were training your worms!" Genki said and a dark look passed over Alan's face.

"I was." he said. "They were killed in a baddie attack a few weeks ago."

Holly laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh Alan…I'm sorry." she said sympathetically.

He nodded and shrugged off her hand.

"After that, I vowed to hunt down the baddies and defeat them," he said, "And I met up with others who did as well. We formed this group to fight them after hearing that you guys were back together, taking on the baddies."

"Thanks," Suezo said with a frown, "But you guys must have a death wish taking on Scimitar and his forces!"

"They ambushed us when we entered the clearing, we didn't pick the fight." came a voice to their left.

They turned and saw a tiger standing at the front of a small group, looking intensely at them. He was a Daton hybrid of some kind, and his kind, almost playful eyes were offset by a fierce glint that obviously inspired respect. He gave them a half-smile and Alan nodded at him.

"Guys," he said. "This is Drifter. He's the leader of our group."

Drifter took a few steps forward and looked them over.

"It's a true honor to have you." he said, "We've been wondering what had become of you for days."

"How did you know what we were doing?" Genki asked, frowning.

Drifter winked at him.

"We have scouts, Genki." he answered with a grin. "They help up keep up with the news of the area."

Holly stepped forward next to Genki.

"Well, if we can help you at all, let us know, okay?" she said kindly and Drifter looked at her.

His smile immediately widened slightly and he looked her up and down.

"Hello…what have we here?" he said and stepped up to her.

Then he bowed and grinned up at her.

"My lady." he said. "You're as beautiful as they've told me."

Holly blushed and Suezo and Tiger moved up behind her in an almost cautionary way. Drifter took no notice and looked around at them again as he stepped back.

"Forgive me." he said to them. "You're welcome all of you. We don't have much, but you're welcome to it."

They thanked him and then looked at each other.

"What do you guys think?" Genki asked and Tiger growled.

"We should just go." he said. "We need to get to Mount Savage."

"But we'll never get by with the baddies right in our way." Golem pointed out in his deep voice.

"That's right." Holly agreed, "We don't want a fight with Scimitar. We'll wait here until they leave."

As if to reinforce their decision, Alan piped in:

"There's food over there. You must be hungry."

"Boy are we!" Suezo exclaimed and hopped off with Hare hot on his trail.

Alan took Holly by the hand and led her off towards a small group of monsters and humans that were busy talking amongst themselves and Golem followed. Grey Wolf went in the opposite direction to mingle with some young fighters surveying the perimeter of the area and then Drifter stepped up to Genki.

"Would you mind walking with me?" he asked. "I would like your opinion on a few things."

"Sure!" Genki agreed and followed the group leader into the crowd talking, disappearing moments later.

Tiger looked around, now by himself and confused as to exactly how. After a moment of indecision, he gave in and growled in muted frustration. Then he walked amongst the group's numbers too.

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By the time night had come around again, the two groups of rebels were pretty well acquainted. Alan and Hare had made a bonfire with the help of some of the monsters under Drifter's command and they all sat around it happily, eating their respective dinners and talking to each other. The baddies had apparently not wanted to find them too badly, because neither Scimitar's forces nor anyone else had bothered them all day long and that only further raised the group's spirits. They scouts on the border had said that the baddies were staying on the plain where the battle had taken place for some reason and as a result, Genki and Holly decided to keep the group where they were…much to Tiger's chagrin. The wolf-like monster was sulking at the very edge of the group, looking at his friends as they sat closest to the fire and ate their meals. He gnawed on his steak and heard a round of laughter. When he turned his head towards it, he saw Genki and Hare sitting with Drifter, the three of them laughing uproariously at something, the first of the three not noticing his hand hovering around his chest. Holly was on their other side, and she leaned in and patted the group leader on the back, getting a toothy grin in return. Tiger's eyes narrowed. He was so intent on seeing what was going on that he almost didn't notice that he was growling under his breath. When he did, he stopped and shook his head slightly, but as soon as he looked at the foursome again, he almost started again.

'Why am I acting like this?' he wondered, then a thought occurred to him.

Was he…jealous? Every time Tiger had offered to help the others all day, Drifter had been there, insisting that they could handle whatever it was without him. It had seemed harmless at first, but eventually, he'd gotten the distinct feeling that the group leader was trying to discreetly distance him from his friends. And worst of all, Genki, Holly and the others had played right along with it, not realizing it at all. Tiger glared at Drifter. He was strong, the lupine monster saw. He would almost have been admirable, the blue lupine thought, if he didn't want to claw him hard across the face. Tiger dismissed the thought instantly and turned back to his food. He wanted them to leave badly, to get away from this group of suck-ups and get back to their mission.

'I can't really be jealous of **him**.' Tiger thought with a growl. 'Why the hell would I be?'

He had just stifled another growl when he heard something and, looking over, saw many monsters and humans departing the fire and going to sleep. He saw Drifter stand up and nod at Genki, Hare, and Holly, then turn and disappear into the hazy dark behind the fire. Tiger growled audibly and stood up. Holly and most of the others lay down where they were and once they were visibly settled down, Tiger stalked forward, the waning bonfire dancing in his golden eyes as he followed Drifter's scent. He saw the Daton say something to Alan, who nodded and gestured to some of the border guards before departing, then turn and vanish into the trees surrounding the camp. Tiger followed at a distance, being careful not to alert Drifter to his presence, but close enough not to lose him. Once he entered the trees, he looked around…and Drifter was gone. Swearing under his breath, Tiger sniffed out his scent and took off at a run, trailing it deeper and deeper into the woods.

'I don't care if he sees me.' The wolf-like monster thought brutally. 'Maybe if he does, I'll have an excuse to fight him.'

He'd just finished this thought when he rounded a bend and nearly ran right off a 30-foot drop. Skidding to a halt, he saw a shallow cave entrance that appeared to be no more than a depression in the rock face. Leaping down, he landed with a grunt and glared in the entrance from just out of sight. What he saw made him seize up. Drifter was standing motionless just inside, shooting an ashamed and hateful look at a monster standing only feet away. That monster was a dragon…or rather, a dragon hybrid, with an inverted cross on his front and a mildly smug look on his face. It was Thunder! Tiger almost growled loudly but caught himself, then looked more closely. Thunder had baddie troops behind him, and they appeared to be holding a female tiger, a young boy, and one of the border guards, all of whom looked terrified.

"I'll keep doing whatever you want." Drifter was saying in a low voice. "Just don't hurt them."

"If you succeed, they go free." Thunder responded. "If not…well…you know what happens. And I can be very, **very** sadistic when I want to. Remember that."

Drifter drooped his head.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked, sounding humiliated.

Thunder leaned in closely.

"Sneak up on Tiger and the others while they sleep," he said malevolently. "Then kill them and bring me proof that you carried it out."

Tiger saw Drifter almost trembling, but he couldn't tell if it was fear or anger.

"I-I don't think I can do that." he whispered and Thunder glared at him.

"Of course you can, Drifter." he said in a mock-sweet voice, walking behind the hostages. "It's easy. All you have to do is wait until they are asleep, stand over them, and…"

Thunder grabbed the guard by the head and snapped his neck, making Tiger flinch visibly and the other two hostages start whimpering and crying piteously.

"…do that." the dragon finished. "It's a piece of cake. Besides, I'm not giving you a choice. Do it, or I will. And **then** I'll kill both your sister and your trainer here. Do I make myself clear?"

Drifter glared hatefully at him and after a moment nodded. Thunder nodded, glaring back.

"Get it done." he hissed.

Drifter turned and stalked back out of the cave, but by the time he had, Tiger of the Wind was already gone.

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Tiger ran full bore back to the camp, weaving in and out of the trees as he did. He had to warn the others before Drifter got back and carried out Thunder's order. The lupine monster's speed helped him get back quickly, and he bounded out of the trees only minutes later, startling the border guards and running up to Genki and the others. He nudged Genki roughly.

"Kid!" he growled. "Wake up!"

Genki stirred after the second nudge, and the third woke him up totally.

"Wh-What?" he sputtered, blinking sleep out of his eyes. "Tiger? What's going on?"

"We have to go." Tiger answered. "Now!"

"Why, Tiger?" Holly asked, having been woken as well.

"Your new friend is coming to kill us, that's why!" he said with undisguised contempt. "Now come on!"

"Drifter wouldn't do that." Genki said in disbelief. "Why would he?"

Tiger was about to answer when someone beat him to it.

"He wouldn't. That's why."

Whirling, they saw Drifter standing at the edge of the trees, looking murderous and regretful at the same time. Tiger got in a battle stance.

"Back off!" he growled and other monsters started gathering around, wondering what was going on.

"What is with you Tiger of the Wind?" the Daton asked with an angry frown. "All you've done since you arrived is growl and glare at me. Now you lie about me trying to kill them? What's your problem?"

Tiger fixed him with a glare.

"I followed you." he said, trying to sound compassionate. "I know that Thunder's forcing you into it. But I won't let you hurt them."

Drifter glared back and then gave a fake, but convincing laugh.

"You're jealous."

Tiger's eyes went wide and he felt everyone's eyes on him. All sympathy he felt for the other monster vanished on the spot. Drifter shook his head.

"You're actually jealous of me." he half-smiled, "Of the fact that I connected with your friends better than you can."

Tiger saw Holly, Genki, and Grey Wolf look at him in surprise and he almost blushed but kept it back by sheer force of will.

"Tiger, is this true?" Holly asked in a kind, concerned voice that just made him more frustrated.

"No!" he snarled. "Holly, he's messing with you!"

"Why would I?" Drifter said. "All I or any of my group has done is help you."

"Guys, I swear he's lying!" Tiger growled at them slightly nervously. "Thunder is blackmailing him into killing us!"

But the more he stared at his friends' faces, the more he saw that they believed Drifter, not him. Tiger looked desperately at Genki, looked directly into his eyes. Then he swallowed his pride.

"Kid," he almost begged. "Please…believe me. Yes. I was jealous of him, but I swear to you that I am not lying now. Please…"

Genki held his gaze intensely for a long moment, but then Tiger saw him nod slowly and turn to Drifter.

"Thanks for all you've done." he said, "But we need to go. Good luck on your own journey."

Tiger sighed in relief and slowly, though they fixed Genki with questioning stares, the others followed him over.

"Thank you, Drifter." Holly said and then turned away from the stunned tiger.

The seven of them turned to head back towards Mount Savage, but didn't get more than a few feet. Drifter and a number of his subordinates leapt in front of them, the former growling.

"I can't let you leave," he said almost apologetically. "I'm sorry. You have to die."

Alan looked taken aback.

"Drifter, what are you doing?!" he asked.

"Tiger was right." Hare added in shock. "Why, Drifter?"

"Thunder is going to **kill** my family if I don't do what he says." The Daton snapped. "There's no other way. Please don't make this harder than it needs to be."

"Wait." Genki pleaded. "Drifter, we can help you!"

"You know how powerful he is." Drifter said. "We wouldn't stand a chance if we fought him."

Then, Alan made a noise and everyone looked at him

"Actually," he said. "Maybe there's a way we would…"

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Thunder paced the inside of the cave. The hostages behind him whimpered and cried, but he paid them no heed. In fact, he barely acknowledged them at all as he relished in the fact that Drifter was almost out of time. He'd known from the beginning that the rebel idiot wouldn't succeed, but perhaps he might take out at least one or maybe even two of the rebels before he was stopped, and Thunder would still get to kill his hostages. He also knew that he was taking a risk by side tracking and not going straight towards Mount Savage while he had the chance, but he couldn't pass up the chance to possibly cripple Genki's pathetic little band while he could. Besides, it might be fun. Suddenly, he heard a twig snap and whirled his head towards the noise. Standing there was Drifter, blood on his fur and slashes on his flesh. He stared pointedly at Thunder and gestured to someone to his left. Thunder saw one of his subordinates bring something to him and the tiger threw them on the ground in front of him. Taking a few steps out, the baddie glowered down at them. He saw a ripped and bloody red kerchief, a broken sword, and a shattered stone. He smirked and looked at Drifter.

Suddenly, someone jumped on him from above and he stumbled forward. Then a series of explosions sounded behind him and he whirled in fury, grabbing his attacker, a human, and firing an attack point blank into his face. He went flying like a rag doll and Thunder turned to deflect another attack from the all ready fleeing Drifter and a third from…was that Tiger? Thunder snarled. So the worthless monster hadn't killed them! He'd been deceived. Furious, he fired a lightning attack from his clawed hand and a small group of rebels exploded. When he fired a second, however, the rebels were disappearing into the woods and he roared after them. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he turned to the cave…and saw four dead baddies and no hostages. Thunder let out an ear-splitting roar of fury. He could chase them down, but it would only be a further delay to his true mission. Quaking in fury, he swore the rebels would pay for this. Then, almost as an afterthought, he set the nearby trees alight, and took to the skies.

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Drifter and Tiger were the first back to the camp and they burst through the tree line panting hard. Behind them came Grey Wolf and Genki, followed by the rest of the ones who'd agreed to help on the dangerous mission. Golem was the last to arrive, carrying a limp bundle in his arms. Drifter leapt over to him immediately as he laid it on the ground. The form was torn up badly and bled from numerous wounds. He glanced at the Daton as he stood over him.

"Family…safe…?" Alan asked almost inaudibly through his blood.

"Yes." Drifter said, looking stricken. "You saved their lives by jumping on him like that. It gave us the time we needed to get them out. Thank you my friend."

Alan nodded and looked at Holly, who had come up on his other side, Genki close behind her. He gazed directly into their eyes with his waning strength.

"Don't lose your way." He rasped and then coughed up blood. "You're our last hope. The whole world will be destroyed if Thunder gets the Savage Sword. Don't give up. Don't…give…"

Then Alan slumped over and moved no more. Holly buried her face in her hands and Genki hugged her comfortingly. Drifter stood straight again and Tiger came up behind him. The Warrior of the Wind saw a few tears slide down the Daton's cheek as well and he stepped back a little as they turned to face each other.

"I'm sorry." Drifter said simply and Tiger nodded.

"So am I." he responded and got the same reaction. "What will you do?"

"I'll make sure my family is safe," Drifter said, "Then we'll return to fight the baddies. It's the least I can do for Alan…and you guys."

The two monsters nodded at each other. Then Drifter called to his subordinates and sprinted off, his followers trailing him closely. Soon, everyone was gone. Tiger turned to his friends and saw them all standing, looking sad but determined. Chief among them was Holly, who clutched at the handle of a small blade that one of the humans had given her.

"Let's go, my friends," she said. "No more delays. Let's find the Savage Sword and destroy Thunder and the baddies once and for all!"

They all let out a cheer of support and turned back on their original course, towards Mount Savage, and whatever awaited them there.


	19. Two Of A Kind

**Yep, I actually updated! I'm really sorry about the REALLY long wait, but I had horrible writer's block and I just had other things to do. Fortunately, I'm coming up to the last few chapters of this story, so hopefully you guys won't have to wait as long in the future. This chapter is very important, but not really action packed, so the next one should be full of action. Until then, please R & R! Thanks for your patience!**

**---**

The distance they traveled the following day was great, but as usual didn't seem to get them any closer to Mount Savage. The mountain seemed to almost move itself further away when they were in range of finally approaching its base, but due to Holly's newfound determination, the group's morale didn't wane. Hare spent the day coming up with battle and defense plans in his head as they continued on their long hike, and Tiger and Grey Wolf chimed in suggestions whether he wanted them or not. The others honed their battle skills, and Suezo spent long hours trying to perfect his teleport technique, which he knew could possibly save their lives further down the road.

Genki found his mind wandering, not to the Savage Sword and its impending presence, but to Scimitar and the mark on his chest. His own mark throbbed painfully more often now than before, but he had managed to find ways to control the pain, and looking at him, there were times that it was almost unrecognizable to an outsider that there was anything wrong at all. Once they settled down for the night, he had trouble sleeping, and as he looked up at the sky, he set his mind. He needed to talk to Scimitar. He didn't know what he would say to him, just that he needed to say something, to talk. The next day, the group's food supply dropped to a dangerously low level, and Holly said that she would find the nearest village and gather more. Tiger agreed to take her, both for speed and for fear that she might come under attack if she went alone or with someone weaker. Holly mounted his back as she turned to the others, the two of them ready to depart.

"Be careful guys." she said sternly. "We'll be back as fast as we can."

"Right back at you." Hare responded and the two nodded in turn.

Tiger glanced up at Holly.

"Ready, Holly?" he asked, and when she nodded he added: "Hang on!"

Then he shot like a bullet across the landscape, dust being kicked up in his wake. Seconds later, they were out of sight.

"Well." Suezo said. "What now?"

"Now we go back to practicing." Hare said. "If we're gonna be taking on Thunder and Scimitar, then we all need to be at our best Suezo."

The eyeball monster glared at him as he said it.

"Why are you lookin' at me when you say that?!" he yelled and Hare ignored him.

Then Genki shook his head and snapped out of the reverie he'd been in. He looked over at Grey Wolf.

"Grey." he said. "Watch after these guys. I need to do something."

"Where are you going?" the wolf-monster asked, sounding slightly suspicious.

"There's something I need to do." Genki repeated. "You and Hare take charge. I'll be back when I can."

Then, without waiting for a response, he started walking in the opposite direction, away from Mount Savage and back the way they'd come. Hare stepped up next to Grey Wolf, who had called after him in concern.

"Where's he going?" he asked.

"I don't know." Grey Wolf answered. "I don't know…"

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Genki groaned through his teeth as his chest throbbed again. He had been walking for almost 3 hours and had still found no trace of Scimitar or his troops. It had only taken him 20 minutes to realize that he really didn't know much about tracking and he never appreciated Holly ability to use the Magic Stone more than he did right then. As he reentered a small forest that they had passed through the other day, he stopped and listened closely for any sign of life. Nothing. Not even a sign that anyone had been there.

"Damn it!" Genki swore, throwing down his hat in frustration.

Running his fingers through his hair, he slumped down to the ground with his back against the nearest tree. How was he ever going to find Scimitar in time to get back before Holly and Tiger returned? He wasn't, he answered himself, unless he stumbled across them purely by luck, which given their luck lately wasn't too likely of a possibility. He sighed and picked up his hat from the ground, brushing a leaf off of it as he did so. Then a thought struck him. If Scimitar was having problems with Thunder as well as the Savage Sword, then he might go back to where Thunder had been in an effort to find something to use against him for his own benefit. The cave where Alan had been mortally wounded, Genki thought. That had to be where they were! Standing up fast, he kept running on his course, moving at a much faster pace than before.

Soon, the forest turned to grassland, then to a rocky slope, and then back to a forest again and it was then that Genki realized how far he still had to go and how far he would have to go back. It was nearly dark out already, and Holly and Tiger were probably just getting back from their own side quest by now. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he thought. After all, there was no guarantee at all that what he was attempting was even going to work, let alone help him. Suddenly, he heard a noise and listening closer realized that it was voices. They were very faint, but close enough for him to hear them even without the heightened senses of some of his friends. Moving quietly, he slid around the trees towards where he thought it was coming from. The closer he got, the more it sounded like he was hearing a large group, and that got him excited. The voices got loud enough to make out words as he rounded a small clump of trees, and as he did, he finally got a look at their owners. Genki felt a small rush of fear and triumph go through him as he saw a group of baddies, tigers, zuums, dinos, katos, and others, all sitting around in bunches, talking to or yelling at each other, or even fighting in some cases. They were so preoccupied that none of them saw him, and he silently thanked his changing luck. Maybe he would pull this off after all. But where was Scimitar? Looking around, he realized that he didn't see him anywhere, and clenched his fist in frustration. Where was he?! Suddenly, he felt something sharp press into his neck, and thinking it was a branch from one of the trees, was about to pull away when he heard:

"I've seen you do stupid things before, rebel, but this one has to set some kind of record."

Genki froze on the spot. He felt breath hot on his neck and a furred body pressed almost gently to his back.

"Put your hands out in front of you on the ground." the voice said coldly. "Make a move for that sword, and I get to watch your impression of your friend Alan's final moments, understand?"

It took effort for Genki to ignore the comment about Alan, but he pushed back his anger and turned his head slightly. He knew that voice anywhere.

"I need to talk to you, Scimitar."

The evil tiger moved around to his front so he was facing him, keeping his claw on his captive's neck. Then he sat down in front of him.

"Could it be about **this** perhaps?" he asked, sounding almost serpent-like as he moved his claw from Genki's throat and slid it almost casually down the middle of the young man's chest, right over the imprint of the sword there.

Genki didn't miss a beat.

"Yes." he said. "And we both know that it's a common problem for us."

Scimitar glared at him intensely, then moved his paw to his own furred chest and raked it slowly with his claws, never taking his eyes off Genki's. Then he nodded at the human and turned and began walking away silently through the trees, away from his own group. Genki knew that he was supposed to follow and he did just that, vanishing into the trees after him, wondering how their next conversation would go.

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"He WHAT?!" Tiger barked in anger.

"He walked off." Grey Wolf responded and Hare nodded from next to him. "We figured he would be back hours ago."

"And you just let him go alone?" Tiger asked in annoyance, looking more at Hare than his brother. "You didn't follow him?"

"It didn't sound like he wanted anyone to." Hare retorted, looking at Tiger challengingly. "And besides, I assumed he just wanted to be alone for awhile to think about things. You know, Tiger, the way **you** used to always do?"

Tiger and Holly had arrived back only minutes before, carrying enough food to last them hopefully until they got to Mount Savage or found another source, and had immediately distributed some of it to the hungry group. Then, however, they had noticed that Genki was not there and Grey Wolf and Hare had explained about the young man's sudden disappearance. Holly was worried, but Tiger was angry on top of that. Grey Wolf already knew that Tiger was just overprotective of Genki, so he wasn't cross with his older brother for yelling at him and Hare, but he too was worried about his companion, who could've gone anywhere for all they knew.

"We have to spread out and go look for him." Holly said quickly. "If we hurry, we can find him by the time it gets really dark."

"There's no need." Tiger growled and when they all looked at him curiously, he added: "I know exactly where he's going…and why."

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"Let me get this straight." Scimitar said, sounding half angry and half sarcastic. "You want to convince the Savage Sword to free us both from this…this curse it's put on us?"

Genki nodded emphatically.

"Yes." he said.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" the tiger asked, sounding more threatening than amused at all.

"I have an idea." Genki answered, not explaining it to him any further.

"And?"

"And you're going to have to trust me."

Scimitar suddenly moved with blinding speed and knocked Genki flat onto his back, making the young man let out an 'Oof!' as he landed with the tiger on top of him, snarling down into his face.

"Listen you little shit!" Scimitar hissed. "You may think we're somehow allies because we're both cursed with this, but I'm telling you right now that we're not! If it would help me at all, I would kill you right now! Your friends would never find what was left of you."

"If you really wanted to kill me, Scimitar, you would've done it before." Genki retorted fiercely, matching the tiger's anger with his own determination. "And whether you like it or not, we're in the same boat now. And let me tell **you**, it's sinking fast."

Scimitar looked furious, but didn't do anything to act on it. He whirled and leapt away a few feet, facing in the other direction.

"If it kills me than let it." he said, sounding almost slightly defeated to Genki. "I don't care anymore. It's not my concern."

Genki picked himself up and stared at the tiger's back.

"Do you want to die?" he asked quietly and Scimitar snorted.

"Like I said, I don't care anymore." he responded.

"Why?" Genki said simply.

Scimitar had no answer to that and simply stared up at the evening sky.

"What are you fighting for now, Scimitar?" Genki asked. "It's not Thunder. We both know that he's never done one thing that's gotten you anywhere worth a damn and I know you're smart enough to know that. So… What are you really fighting for?"

Genki half expected Scimitar to respond with "Because it's fun" or something, but the baddie lowered his head a little, staring intently at the ground.

"I…don't know." he said slowly.

"Then doesn't it make sense to fight for the one thing you have left?" Genki continued. "Your life?"

Scimitar finally turned and looked at him.

"Why do you care if I come anyway, rebel?" he asked. "If you have an idea as to how to get this accursed sword out of us then why do you want me there? Why not just use it to free yourself?"

"Because I don't think it will listen unless we're both there." Genki answered sincerely. "And I **don't** want to die. So Scimitar, please, for the sake of both of our lives. Come with me."

"I don't care about my own life, Genki." Scimitar said, using the human's name for one of the first times since they'd met so long ago now. "What makes you think I'd give a damn about yours?"

Genki almost panicked for a second, then saw a way out of his corner.

"If not for us," he said. "Don't you want to thwart Thunder? Turn the sword's draining power towards him as revenge for all he's done to you, to us?"

Scimitar looked away and stared at the ground again. After what seemed like an eternity to Genki, he looked back up and almost smirked at him.

"I'd like nothing more." Scimitar said. "Revenge is my specialty."

Then he walked up to Genki and smiled brutally.

"What did you have in mind?"

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No one said a word. Holly looked both not surprised and horrified at the same time, Hare and Suezo looked shocked, and Grey Wolf and Golem mimicked their stunned expressions.

"He's…it's connected to him? Are you sure, Tiger?" Holly asked softly.

Tiger nodded at her apologetically.

"I saw the mark on his chest." he said. "More importantly, I also saw the same mark on someone else's chest too."

"Scimitar's" Hare said in realization before he could and Tiger nodded at him too.

"Yeah. I'm not sure Genki knew that I saw it on Scimitar too, but I know that the only place he would be going right now would be to see Scimitar."

"Why?" Grey Wolf asked from where he lay next to Golem. "For what purpose?"

"I don't know." Tiger said truthfully, "But we need to go after him to make sure he doesn't get himself hurt."

"I agree." Holly said and Hare and Grey Wolf nodded.

"You don't trust he can handle himself?" Suezo said and Tiger turned his attention to him.

"I don't trust Scimitar." he said. "And it'll be a cold day in hell before I let one of my best friends face him alone."

"He's done it before." Golem pointed out and Grey Wolf looked up at him.

"That doesn't make it any safer." he countered. "I agree with Tiger. We should go and search for him."

"So we agree." Holly said, ending the discussion once and for all. "Now which way did he –"

"You don't need to look for me." came a voice and they all whirled to see its source.

Standing by a tree, looking tired but unhurt, was Genki and the group yelled out his name in surprise and relief.

"Genki, are you okay?" Holly asked him and took a few steps towards him, but stopped when he held up a hand.

"Hopefully, I will be." he said. "But I'm going to need you guys to trust me on something."

"What is it, kid?" Suezo asked, getting up from his prone position.

Genki looked half apologetically at them and then glanced over his shoulder at something. Almost on cue, someone walked up and stood next to him and the group let out almost simultaneous screams and shouts of alarm.

"Scimitar!" Holly screamed and Tiger snarled from where he was.

"Get away from him!" he yelled and lunged at his fellow tiger.

"Tiger, wait!" Genki shouted and grabbed him around the midsection in midair, making them both crash unceremoniously to the ground.

Tiger pushed himself up a little off the ground and looked back over his shoulder at his friend angrily.

"Genki, what are you doing?!" he growled and Genki looked him in the eye.

"He's here because I asked him to be!" he said and everything came to an abrupt halt.

The others all looked at him like he wasn't in his right mind and Suezo voiced what they were obviously all thinking.

"Genki," he said. "ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"Genki, why would you ask him to come here?" Holly asked. "He's a baddie. He's crazy!"

"I could say the same about you considering what you've done thus far, the opponents you've taken on." Scimitar shot back, speaking for the first time. "But sadly, I'm not here to fight."

"Kid, you can't trust him!" Tiger insisted and Genki shook his head.

"I **don't** trust him." he said and he and Scimitar looked at each other. "I trust his motives. And they're the same as mine."

"What does that mean?" Hare asked in confusion and Scimitar rubbed at his chest with a paw.

Slowly, a shape appeared and they all saw the clear outline of a sword imprinted there. Genki then lifted up his shirt and they saw the same sword, darker than ever and looking now like a severe burn, on his chest. Several of them gasped.

"Oh my god…" Holly said, remembering what Tiger had said but only fully believing it now. "Genki, how long have you had this?"

"A while." he said. "But I think you might be able to help me."

"How?" she asked.

"By making contact with the Savage Sword." he answered.

Holly looked taken aback.

"Genki, how-…How am I supposed to do that?"

"With the Magic Stone." he said. "Can you use it not just to find it, but to contact it?"

"I…don't know." she answered truthfully, but Hare spoke up.

"Theoretically it is possible." he said. "But the sword is so powerful that doing it would destroy the stone. It would burst, like the fake one we used to fool Thunder when we rescued Drifter's family."

"But it **can** be done?" Genki asked and Hare nodded.

"But Genki, I wouldn't even know how." Holly said, thinking back to her dream and remembering how scared of the sword's mutant form she had been then.

"You can try, Holly." Genki said. "You can do it, I know you can!"

"Wait! Back up!" Suezo said loudly then pointed at Scimitar with his tongue. "Why is **he** here?"

"To watch you all squirm." the tiger answered with an evil grin and Genki cut off Tiger's responding growl.

"He's here because I think the Savage Sword won't listen unless both the people it's possessing are there to convince it otherwise." he said.

"You guys are acting like it'll talk back to you somehow." Suezo said, narrowing his eyes at them both. "It's not like the thing is alive. It's a sword!"

"Actually, Suezo…" Holly said slowly before either one could answer. "It **can **respond to them."

They all looked at her in surprise.

"How do you know, Holly?" Golem asked and she looked down in shame.

"Because it spoke to me before." She answered softly.

"It…spoke to you?" Genki asked, as caught off guard as the rest of them. "What did it say?"

She sighed.

"It doesn't matter." she said. "What matters is that it **can** be done…but I don't know how."

Genki rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Holly, please." he said softly. "Please try."

She hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. Walking over to the center of the group, she stood and took the Magic Stone in her hands. Trying to ignore the presence of Scimitar directly to her left, she concentrated hard and the stone started to glow.

'Please let this work.' she thought. 'Let us talk to the Savage Sword.'

The red glow surrounding the stone spread to her and then one by one to the others, all of whom closed their eyes and let it enfold them. Slowly the world faded to the same pitch black that she remembered from her dream and suddenly they all found themselves seemingly floating in it, standing solidly on nothing as she had. The others looked both fascinated and confused.

"Is this it, Holly?" Suezo asked in awe. "Is this what it was like when it spoke to you before?"

"Yes." she answered.

"Have you reconsidered?" came an unearthly sounding voice and they all turned to its source and saw the same mutant looking creature from Holly's dream, with the body of a human but the head and tail of a tiger, formed from parts of the bodies of those it was connected to.

The others looked shocked and even a little sickened by its appearance, but Holly immediately answered.

"No. We came for another reason."

"Why?"

Genki stepped forward with Scimitar right next to him, the former looking uneasy.

"Because I want you to relinquish your hold on us." he said, looking the creature right in the eye.

"You come to destroy me." it said, repeating exactly what it had said to Holly. "I can't allow that."

"But there's an even greater danger than us." Genki insisted. "Surely with your power you must know this."

"I have felt his presence." the Sword said.

"Then you must know that he's a greater threat to you then we are!" Genki said in turn.

"**Is** he a greater threat than you?" came the answer. "He comes to possess me, not to destroy like you."

"Once he gets you, he's going to find a way to transfer your power into him and then he'll destroy you." Scimitar spoke up, much to Tiger and the others' shock. "So either way you're going to die."

"The question is," Genki added. "How much destruction do you want caused just because of you?"

"Why should it matter to me?"

"Because the only legacy you'll have are the stories that are told about you." Genki said. "Even if we destroy you, you'll have that. If Thunder gets you, there will be no world left for stories to exist in. So please... You weren't created for evil. Let us go. Take him instead."

The creature that was the Savage Sword was silent for a long time. Then it looked at the group one by one and let its vacant gaze linger on Scimitar and Genki.

"It will do you no good." it said softly. "Even if I must cease to exist, before this is over, so must one of you."

Then it raised its arms out in front of it and a blinding light was emitted from its hands. Everyone covered their eyes or looked away and the next thing any of them knew, they were all on the ground back in the real world, shaking their heads to clear them and looking around at each other. When he'd regained his senses, Genki quickly lifted up his shirt and looked at his chest. The mark of the Savage Sword was gone. Glancing over at Scimitar, he saw that the mark on the tiger's chest was gone as well and he sighed deeply in relief, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from him.

"Oh no…" Holly said and when he turned, he saw what she was looking at.

Lying on the ground, shattered into a million small pieces, was the Magic Stone. Holly reached her hand out and picked up the lanyard that had held it around her neck, looking sad, and Genki rested a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Holly." he said, knowing what the stone had meant to her.

She stood and threw her arms around his neck.

"I'm glad you're okay." she said and he returned the embrace, though only half-heartedly, as he was thinking uneasily about the Savage Sword's cryptic final words.

As they broke apart, Genki felt a nudge at his leg and saw Tiger when he looked down.

"Are you sure you're okay now, kid?" he asked.

Genki nodded.

"Yeah, Tiger." he answered with a reassuring smile. "I think I am now."

Then he glanced over and saw Scimitar, who was staring at him strangely, looking almost unsure of himself.

"What now, Scimitar?" he asked as Tiger bared his teeth warningly at his fellow monster.

Scimitar turned and walked to the tree line. The he glanced back.

"I don't know." he said.

Then the Warrior of Fire turned and vanished into the dark, and none of them dared follow him. Genki turned to the others after he was sure the tiger was gone.

"We should get some sleep." he said. "We should reach Mount Savage by tomorrow."

The others agreed with him and as they all lay down to sleep, Genki wondered if he would finally get a good night's rest, or lie awake and worry about the sword's warning, and what might happen to them tomorrow.

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Thunder roared as he had never roared before. Some of the ear-splitting noise was pain, but most of it was sheer rage. The mark of a sword had burned into his chest only moments before and he had known instantly what it meant.

'So even this fucking sword is daring to defy me!' he thought. 'How dare it!'

He roared again and fired an attack out of his clawed hand that hit one of his guards and made him explode in a shower of blood and gore. Thunder paid no heed.

'It doesn't matter.' he thought. 'One day. That's all I need: one day. Then that damn sword and its power will be mine and nothing will stand in my way. And this world and everything in it…will burn.'

Out the window of his floating lair, Mount Savage loomed closer and closer.


End file.
